Home-grown data-mining system strikes gold

Article

Researchers at Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology have developed a secure web-based, HIPAA-compliant data-mining tool for radiology reports based on the Google search engine using free and open source technologies.

Researchers at Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology have developed a secure web-based, HIPAA-compliant data-mining tool for radiology reports based on the Google search engine using free and open source technologies.

Dr. Joseph Erinjeri and colleagues downloaded 20 months of radiology reports (915,000 studies, 2.8 GB) in text format from their RIS to a file server running the Windows 2003 Server operating system. Indexing of the document took approximately 36 hours, averaging 25,000 reports per hour.

The search engine (Google Desktop), web server (Apache), and scripting language (PERL) are all open source and/or freely available.

A keyword search of a common term like patient yielded the first 10 most relevant results of 915,000 total matches in 0.72 seconds. A search of a less common term like moderate cardiomegaly identified 7300 matches in 0.43 seconds.

By using the existing Google search algorithm and framework, radiologists can quickly perform useful searches, the authors said at the American Roentgen Ray Society meeting.

Recent Videos
What New Research Reveals About Computed Tomography and Radiation-Induced Cancer Risk
What New Interventional Radiology Research Reveals About Treatment for Breast Cancer Liver Metastases
New Mammography Studies Assess Image-Based AI Risk Models and Breast Arterial Calcification Detection
Can Deep Learning Provide a CT-Less Alternative for Attenuation Compensation with SPECT MPI?
Employing AI in Detecting Subdural Hematomas on Head CTs: An Interview with Jeremy Heit, MD, PhD
Pertinent Insights into the Imaging of Patients with Marfan Syndrome
What New Brain MRI Research Reveals About Cannabis Use and Working Memory Tasks
Current and Emerging Legislative Priorities for Radiology in 2025
How Will the New FDA Guidance Affect AI Software in Radiology?: An Interview with Nina Kottler, MD, Part 2
A Closer Look at the New Appropriate Use Criteria for Brain PET: An Interview with Phillip Kuo, MD, Part 2
Related Content
© 2025 MJH Life Sciences

All rights reserved.