Extract data from radiology reports

A radiology report is the written account a radiologist produces after reading an imaging study, and it follows a fixed shape: clinical indication, technique, comparison, findings, and impression. It is not a surgical record like an operative report and not an encounter note like a progress note; it is one specialist's reading of one study. An ordering physician who requested the scan, the radiologist who signed it, and the care team acting on the result all read the same report. When a CT of the chest is performed for patient Robert Chen on 2026-06-25 at Rivergate Imaging Center, ordered by Dr. Susan Park and read by Dr. James Ortega, and the report is signed final on 2026-06-26, the impression is what the referring clinician turns to first. Parts a downstream system needs are the structured facts inside otherwise free-text prose. Its imaging_modality is CT, the body_part_examined is the chest, contrast_used is true, and the observation_code carries the LOINC identifier 24627-2 for a CT chest study. Findings describe an 8 mm nodule in the right upper lobe, and that number belongs in the measurements table as a nodule diameter of 8 mm rather than buried in a sentence. An impression gives the radiologist's own concise conclusion, the recommendations note a follow-up CT in twelve months, and the status of final distinguishes a signed report from a preliminary read that may still be amended. Given a radiology report, Talonic returns the study and patient identifiers, the modality and body part, and the findings and impression as typed fields, keeping the findings detail and measurements as tables so a nodule diameter is a number with a unit. A final CT chest report dated 2026-06-26, noting an 8 mm right-upper-lobe nodule with a twelve-month follow-up, loads into a clinical system as structured data. Every field on a radiology report is protected health information (PHI), so it is handled under the privacy controls that govern any patient record, with the radiologist findings and impression returned exactly as written and no reading of the images, diagnosis, or interpretation added.

What gets extracted from radiology reports

How extraction works for radiology reports

Radiology reports arrive as PACS-exported PDFs, dictated reports transcribed to text, and HL7 messages rendered for review, so the findings and the impression sit in prose whose structure varies by department. Classification aligns the report with the radiology schema in the Field Registry, which keeps the study identifiers, the patient block, the modality and technique, and the findings and impression distinct. Imaging_modality and status are read as their stated enums, the observation_code is captured as its LOINC identifier, and the contrast_used boolean is kept because it changes how a study is read. Findings return as a table with each discrete finding, its anatomical location, and its severity, and the measurements table types each value as a number with a unit, so an 8 mm nodule diameter is a measurement and not a phrase. Every value returns with a confidence score and a source-region pointer consistent with DIN SPEC 91491, so a clinician can trace the impression or a measurement back to the signed report. Because these fields are PHI, they return only to the account that submitted the document, and the radiologist stated findings and impression are captured without interpreting the images or offering a diagnosis.

Sample extraction

A final CT chest report with a pulmonary nodule measurement

{
  "document_number": "ACC-2026-CT-55901",
  "document_date": "2026-06-25",
  "report_date": "2026-06-26",
  "patient.name": "Robert Chen",
  "patient.date_of_birth": "1971-09-30",
  "patient_identifier": "MRN-0098213",
  "gender": "male",
  "ordering_physician.name": "Dr. Susan Park",
  "radiologist.name": "Dr. James Ortega",
  "imaging_modality": "CT",
  "body_part_examined": "Chest",
  "clinical_indication": "Persistent cough, rule out pulmonary pathology",
  "technique": "Helical CT of the chest with intravenous contrast, 1.25 mm reconstructions",
  "comparison": "None available",
  "findings": "An 8 mm solid nodule is present in the right upper lobe. No pleural effusion. Heart size normal. No hilar or mediastinal lymphadenopathy.",
  "impression": "Solitary 8 mm right upper lobe pulmonary nodule. Recommend follow-up CT in 12 months per Fleischner Society guidance.",
  "recommendations": "Follow-up CT of the chest in 12 months",
  "status": "final",
  "observation_code": "LOINC 24627-2",
  "contrast_used": true,
  "managing_organization": "Rivergate Imaging Center",
  "findings_details": [
    {
      "finding_id": "F1",
      "anatomical_location": "Right upper lobe",
      "finding_description": "Solid pulmonary nodule",
      "finding_severity": "mild"
    }
  ],
  "measurements": [
    {
      "measurement_id": "M1",
      "measurement_type": "nodule_diameter",
      "measurement_value": 8,
      "unit": "mm",
      "anatomical_reference": "Right upper lobe nodule"
    }
  ]
}

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