Brim April 2026 Release: Variable Referencing, a Larger Library, and Customer Requests
May 4, 2026
Every abstraction project depends on well-defined variables. But defining them well and making sure they work together takes careful thought, careful writing, and a lot of iteration.
This month's release is about making that work more precise and more approachable. The April 2026 release introduces Explicit Variable Referencing, a new way to connect your variables with clarity and confidence, along with the addition of CathPCI to the Variable Library, bringing the total variable count past 250.
Explicit Variable Referencing: Connect Your Variables with Confidence
Brim has long supported multi-level variables, where one variable's output feeds into another. Now you can make those relationships explicit.
With Explicit Variable Referencing, you can reference a variable's value directly inside another variable's instructions. Instead of asking Brim to infer how two variables are related, you can state it plainly, eliminating ambiguity, reducing errors, and getting more reliable abstraction results.
This is especially useful when:
- A variable's output drives a downstream calculation or classification, and you want to be precise about how it's used
- You want the relationship between variables to be visible and unambiguous in the instructions themselves
- You're using AI Variable Creation or AI Dependent Variable Creation and want to build from specific existing variables
- You're troubleshooting why a downstream variable isn't performing as expected
To use it, open any variable's instructions and type an open curly bracket { to see a list of variables you can reference. Type to filter, and select one to insert it. Learn more in our documentation.
CathPCI Variables Now in the Brim Library
The Variable Library now includes a CathPCI bundle featuring pre-built variables for the ACC's CathPCI Registry, ready to add to any project in a single click.
This brings the Variable Library to over 250 variables across registries and specialties, and reflects the continued investment we're making in expanding coverage so you can get to a first-draft abstraction faster, no matter the clinical domain.
To browse the new bundle, go to Settings → Variable Library, or use the Add Variables menu in Project Setup and select "Add from Library."
Have a registry or variable bundle you'd like to see added? Reply to this email or reach out to support@brimanalytics.com. We'd love to hear from you.
Built Around Your Requests
There is nothing we love more than working directly with researchers and abstractors to understand what would make their work smoother. This month, we're shipping several features you asked for:
- Add token counts to label generation & history
- Import data via TSV
- A new generation option for only new patient-variable combinations
- Filter label tables by Validation Agreement status
- An "Accept All" option for label tables
Keep the ideas coming. If you have a request, reach out to support@brimanalytics.com or reply to one of these release emails. We'd love to learn more.
New from Brim
Since our last release, we've also published new pieces on the Brim blog:
- From the Becker's Exhibit Hall: AI Has Arrived. Now What? Fresh from Becker's 16th Annual Meeting, we share what health system leaders are really asking about healthcare AI, and why the hard questions are finally the right ones.
- The Black Box Problem: Why Healthcare AI Needs Explainability and Human Review As AI expands across clinical workflows, we explain why explainability and human-in-the-loop review aren't optional — and how Brim is designed around both.
- How to Leverage Brim's Variable Library A practical guide to getting the most out of Brim's pre-built variables — especially timely with the expansion to CathPCI this month.
How to Get the April Release
This release is available as:
Version 2026.04.29
You can check your current version in Settings → About.
As always, thank you for building with Brim.
We're excited to keep making abstraction faster, clearer, and more trustworthy, and grateful to support the important work your teams are doing every day.