Finding model
A finding model is “the definition of a radiology finding what the finding is such as might be included in a textbook along with definitions of the relevant attributes that a radiologist might use to characterize the finding in a radiology report.”1 The same sentence, near-verbatim, defines the concept in the 2024 reference implementation, so the definition has been stable across the project’s lifetime.2
A finding model is a definition, not an occurrence. The occurrence of a finding on one exam is an observation. The definition is what gives that occurrence a coded identity and tells a consuming system what the attribute values mean.
The authoring guidance defines an imaging finding broadly as “any observation a radiologist makes about an image and documents in a report,” covering pathology, physiologic observations, devices and hardware, postsurgical states, anatomic variants, and image quality observations. The working test is whether a radiologist would write “there is X” or “no X” as a standalone statement.3
Synonyms and near-synonyms
- Open Imaging Finding Model (OIFM) is the formal name; see OIFM for the specification-versus-identifier distinction.
- Finding definition and finding type are used loosely for the same thing; “finding type” also appears in Imaging Problem List field names.
- CDE set is the governed RadElement counterpart. A finding model is faster to author and not balloted.
- FindingClass is the next-generation vocabulary’s counterpart node type, with attributes factored out into shared elements.
- Finding alone means the clinical thing observed, not the definition.
Identifier form
OIFM_[A-Z]{3,4}_[0-9]{6}. Definitions live one per file as defs/<snake_case_name>.fm.json, and ids.json maps every identifier to its file.4
Where it is used
Why finding models, Finding model format, Content catalog, and Finding models and CDEs.