The ACR BI-RADS® Experience: Learning From History

Abstract

The Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) initiative, instituted by the ACR, was begun in the late 1980s to address a lack of standardization and uniformity in mammography practice reporting. An important component of the BI-RADS initiative is the lexicon, a dictionary of descriptors of specific imaging features. The BI-RADS lexicon has always been data driven, using descriptors that previously had been shown in the literature to be predictive of benign and malignant disease. Once established, the BI-RADS lexicon provided new opportunities for quality assurance, communication, research, and improved patient care. The history of this lexicon illustrates a series of challenges and instructive successes that provide a valuable guide for other groups that aspire to develop similar lexicons in the future.

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Affiliated Institutions

• University of Wisconsin–Madison US
• University of California, Los Angeles US
• Emory University Hospital US
• University of California San Francisco Medical Center US
• Stanford University US
• Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center US
• Imaging Center US
• Northwestern Memorial Hospital US
• American College of Radiology US

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