An image filing system for the implementation of image processing algorithms in a research environment

An image filing system (IFS) has been written to facilitate the implementation and testing of image processing algorithms in a research environment. A programming substrate has been developed to provide applications with routines for acquiring, displaying, and manipulating images without regard for the underlying information format. Images of diverse modalities are cataloged and tracked through a series of image operations with descriptive pointers to all antecedents. This paper presents the design and implementation of the image filing system and describes one of the major image processing applications developed in the IFS environment.