> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.omophub.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Multi-lingual Search

> Search OMOP medical concepts in any language using AI-powered translation or by vocabulary code - multilingual clinical terminology lookup.

## Current Status

Native multi-lingual search (automatic language detection, cross-linguistic matching, translated results) is on the OMOPHub roadmap but **not yet available** as a dedicated API endpoint.

Today, OMOPHub's search index and semantic search model operate in **English only**. Concept names, synonyms, and embeddings are indexed in English.

## Multilingual Search with AI Agents (Available Now)

The most effective way to search OMOPHub in any language today is through an **AI agent using MCP** (Model Context Protocol). AI models like Claude and GPT natively understand 100+ languages and can transparently translate between your language and OMOPHub's English-based search.

**How it works:**

1. You ask in your language (e.g., Spanish: *"Buscar diabetes mellitus tipo 2 en SNOMED"*)
2. The AI agent translates to English and calls `search_concepts` or `semantic_search`
3. OMOPHub returns results (English concept names + language-independent codes)
4. The agent presents results in your language

This works with any language the AI model supports - no configuration needed.

<Tip>
  To get started with MCP, see the [MCP Server setup guide](/ai/mcp-server). Once configured, simply ask your AI assistant questions in any language.
</Tip>

## What Works Today (All Languages)

Even without AI agents, these approaches work regardless of language:

### Search by code (language-independent)

Vocabulary codes are universal. Searching by SNOMED code, ICD-10 code, or OMOP concept ID works in any context:

```bash theme={null}
# SNOMED code for Type 2 diabetes - works regardless of language
curl "https://api.omophub.com/v1/concepts/search?query=44054006" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
```

### Retrieve synonyms (may include translations)

The OMOP `concept_synonym` table stores multilingual synonyms when available in the vocabulary release. Retrieve them with:

```bash theme={null}
# Get concept with synonyms (may include Spanish, French, etc.)
curl "https://api.omophub.com/v1/concepts/201826?include_synonyms=true" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
```

Via FHIR `$lookup`, synonyms are returned as designations:

```bash theme={null}
curl "https://fhir.omophub.com/fhir/r4/CodeSystem/$lookup?\
system=http://snomed.info/sct&code=44054006&property=designation" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
```

### FHIR \$validate-code (language-independent)

Code validation works with any code regardless of language - it checks existence, not display text:

```bash theme={null}
curl "https://fhir.omophub.com/fhir/r4/CodeSystem/$validate-code?\
url=http://snomed.info/sct&code=44054006" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
```

## Limitations

* **Text search**: Queries like *"diabetes mellitus tipo 2"* (Spanish) will not match English concept names in the search index
* **Semantic search**: The embedding model is English-only - non-English queries produce poor vector matches
* **SNOMED editions**: OMOPHub serves the OHDSI OMOP vocabulary release (based on SNOMED International). Regional editions (e.g., SNOMED CT Spanish Edition) are not available separately
* **Synonym coverage**: Not all concepts have multilingual synonyms - availability depends on the OHDSI vocabulary release

## Related

* [AI & LLM Integration](/guides/integration/ai-llm-integration) - Grounding LLM outputs with OMOPHub, including multilingual workflows
* [MCP Server](/ai/mcp-server) - Set up OMOPHub as an MCP tool for AI agents
* [MCP Tools Reference](/ai/mcp-tools) - All 11 MCP tools available to AI agents