Developing an Ontology for the Reporting of Oesophageal Biopsies

Considerable variation between pathologists in the grading of cancers has been shown to exist, and there is a need for more consistent phraseology in the reporting of the diagnosis of cancers. This paper proposes the development of a language and framework as a reporting process to reduce ambiguity and aid in the consistency of verbalisation in reporting. The criteria for an acceptable ontology are described and the ontology developed is shown to comply with the criteria. The stages of the development are reported, including the collection of primary and secondary data.