World Wide Web interface to digital imaging and communication in medicine-capable image servers

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Web Technologies
• Radiology Informatics

Background:

• Traditional methods for distributing radiological images can be costly and inefficient.
• There is a need for accessible, low-cost solutions for medical image distribution within healthcare environments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a low-cost system for distributing radiological images using the World Wide Web (WWW).
• To assess the feasibility and performance of web-based image distribution in a clinical setting.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a forms-based interface for querying DICOM-capable machines at multiple levels (patient, study, image).
• Implemented image pre-windowing (16- to 8-bit), Joint Photographic Expert Group (JPEG) compression, and decompression for efficient transfer.
• Leveraged World Wide Web browser clients (e.g., Netscape) on various platforms (UNIX, PC, Macintosh).

Main Results:

• The system successfully distributes radiological images via the WWW.
• The entire process of fetching, transforming, compressing (JPEG), and displaying images takes 2-5 seconds over Ethernet at 75% JPEG quality.
• The solution is compatible with common operating systems and web browsers.

Conclusions:

• The developed World Wide Web-based system offers a viable, low-cost solution for radiological image distribution.
• This approach enhances accessibility and potentially reduces costs associated with medical image sharing.
• The system demonstrates efficient image transfer and display, suitable for clinical environments.