[Image fusion in medical radiology]

Image fusion supports the correlation between images of two or more studies of the same organ. First, the effect of differing geometries during image acquisitions, such as a head tilt, is compensated for. As a consequence, congruent images can easily be obtained. Instead of merely putting them side by side in a static manner and burdening the radiologist with the whole correlation task, image fusion supports him with interactive visualization techniques. This is especially worthwhile for small lesions as they can be more precisely located. Image fusion is feasible today. Easy and robust techniques are readily available, and furthermore DICOM, a rapidly evolving data exchange standard, diminishes the once severe compatibility problems for image data originating from systems of different manufacturers. However, the current solutions for image fusion are not yet established enough for a high throughput of fusion studies. Thus, for the time being image fusion is most appropriately confined to clinical research studies.