Converting images into clinical reports
"Converting images into clinical reports" is an honest search with dishonest answers. There is no permitted tool in Brazil that turns a medical image into a signed report without a physician in between — and whoever promises that is selling a regulatory problem. What exists, and works, is the assisted path: the image stays in the PACS, the physician interprets, and the software converts their speech into a structured report, integrated with the RIS.
What this search actually finds
- Detection tools (CAD): point to candidate findings in the image. They do not write reports; they assist the reading.
- Speech-to-report: convert the physician's dictation into structured text. That is where the time is gained, because writing and formatting leave the path.
- Structured report with integration: the result returns to the RIS/PACS as data, via HL7, FHIR or DICOM-SR — not as loose text.
Laudos.AI works on the last two: from the radiologist's speech to the structured, signed report, inside the workflow. Reading the image and the clinical decision are not converted — they are exercised, by the physician.
The path from image to signed report
- The exam arrives through the worklist, with indication and history imported from the RIS.
- The physician reads the image in the PACS, as they always have.
- They dictate the findings in natural language; technique, analysis and impression assemble in the institution's template.
- They review, edit and sign. Every change is recorded with author and time.
- The report returns to the RIS/PACS structured, with no retyping.
Integrating medical images and reports: what to check
Integration is where promise and reality part ways. What to ask of any vendor:
- Protocols: HL7 v2 (ORU), FHIR R4 (DiagnosticReport) and DICOM-SR — the standard of the DICOM working group WG-08 for structured reporting.
- Validation per deployment: compatibility depends on the system, the version and the connector. It is validated in your environment; a promise of universal compatibility is a warning sign.
- Documented data flow: what travels, where it persists, for how long and under which legal basis of the LGPD.
The connectors and paths supported by Laudos.AI are described in integrations.
What CFM Resolution 2.454/2026 allows — and what it forbids
It allows medium-risk assistive software: suggesting structure, terminology and classification, with meaningful human supervision. It forbids what the search for "automatic conversion" sometimes expects: interpreting the image, diagnosing and releasing a report autonomously. The physician who signs is accountable for the report — and the system must produce evidence of that, exam by exam.
Frequently asked questions
Is there an AI that writes the report straight from the image?
There is research and there are detection products that suggest findings, but a signed report without medical review is not permitted in Brazil. The path in production is assistive: the physician interprets and dictates; the software structures, integrates and records.
What is needed to integrate the report with the PACS and the RIS?
A validated return path — HL7 v2, FHIR R4 or DICOM-SR — mapped in your environment, with fields, states and contingency defined before production. The mapping is part of the deployment, not an extra.
How much time does the assisted path save?
The number we measure and publish: a median of 52 seconds from editor open to signature, with event, window and N described in the metrics methodology.
See also: automating medical reports · voice software for reporting · DICOM-SR · PACS · report templates by modality.
Content updated on .