COMPUTER AUTOCODING, SELECTING AND CORRELATING OF RADIOLOGIC DIAGNOSTIC CASES

Abstract

Without a specific plan for indexing case material, it cannot be retrieved. The large number of code systems which radiologists have devised for their diagnostic cases attests to both the need and the chronic dissatisfaction with existing codes. Now the high-speed digital computer shows great promise of aid in this problem and of opening new vistas in case correlation. Herein is described a system which will permit the pertinent words in the radiology diagnostic report to form the basis for retrieval of the case. With the use of a special typewriter, the regular report is typed simultaneously with punched paper tape which is then fed into the computer. The computer analyzes each word and word-series and compares them with two special word lists, Key words are retained and filed with appropriate identifying data. Discard words are lost and unknown words (not on either word list) are printed out for evaluation. Retrieval and correlation are possible within a wide variety of possibilities, including such additional identifying data as race, sex, age, and degree of positivity.