B Reading

The UIC MinER Center works with a team of certified B Readers to review chest radiographs and CT scans for occupational lung disease. Our center has provided B Readings for a variety of clients across several industries. B Reading is a specialized classification of chest radiographs using the International Labour Office (ILO) system for pneumoconioses. Only physicians certified as B Readers by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) can perform B Readings.

Services provided by the MinER Center’s B Reading team include:

• “Single-read” B Reading services, in which a chest radiograph is classified by a single B Reader
• “Dual-read” B Reading services, in which a chest radiograph is classified by at least two B Readers. The two initial B Readings are compared for consistency. If the readings are sufficiently similar, a final determination report incorporates information from both B Readings is produced. If the readings are significantly different, an adjudication process – in which the image is read by up to four additional B Readers – is followed to generate a final determination.
• Review of CT scans by certified B Readers, with interpretations using an equivalent scale to the ILO classification (not technically a B Read, as B Reads are only of plain chest PA radiographs)

We are able to receive images and return the completed reports via our HIPAA-compliant file sharing site or via the client’s file sharing site. Our clients include international governments, hospitals, and occupational medicine clinics. We also offer B reads of chest radiographs for medicolegal evaluations.