title: Expressiveness of the Breast Imaging Reporting and Database System (BI-RADS).
abstract: The Breast Imaging Reporting and Database System (BI-RADS) was developed by the American College of Radiology and is used by a number of computerized mammography tracking systems. The ability of BI-RADS to encode the data contained in 300 mammography reports at the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center was examined. BI-RADS was able to encode normal reports and "special masses" (such as lymph nodes) without difficulty. However, none of the general masses and only 17% of the calcifications could be encoded in BI-RADS. The implications of this for the design of mammography databases are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Informatics, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York 10032, USA.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Starren
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Johnson
mesh_terms: D016208:Databases, Factual; D006801:Humans; D008327:Mammography / Q000145:classification*; D009626:Terminology as Topic; D018875:Vocabulary, Controlled