DICOM: a standard for medical imaging

Steven C. Horii M.D.; W. Dean Bidgood M.D.

doi:10.1117/12.139249

20 January 1993 DICOM: a standard for medical imaging

Steven C. Horii M.D., W. Dean Bidgood M.D.

Proceedings Volume 1785, Enabling Technologies for High-Bandwidth Applications; (1993) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.139249
Event: Fibers '92, 1992, Boston, MA, United States

Abstract

Since 1983, the American College of Radiology (ACR) and the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) have been engaged in developing standards related to medical imaging. This alliance of users and manufacturers was formed to meet the needs of the medical imaging community as its use of digital imaging technology increased. The development of electronic picture archiving and communications systems (PACS), which could connect a number of medical imaging devices together in a network, led to the need for a standard interface and data structure for use on imaging equipment. Since medical image files tend to be very large and include much text information along with the image, the need for a fast, flexible, and extensible standard was quickly established. The ACR-NEMA Digital Imaging and Communications Standards Committee developed a standard which met these needs. The standard (ACR-NEMA 300-1988) was first published in 1985 and revised in 1988. It is increasingly available from equipment manufacturers. The current work of the ACR- NEMA Committee has been to extend the standard to incorporate direct network connection features, and build on standards work done by the International Standards Organization in its Open Systems Interconnection series. This new standard, called Digital Imaging and Communication in Medicine (DICOM), follows an object-oriented design methodology and makes use of as many existing internationally accepted standards as possible. This paper gives a brief overview of the requirements for communications standards in medical imaging, a history of the ACR-NEMA effort and what it has produced, and a description of the DICOM standard.

Citation Download Citation

Steven C. Horii M.D. and W. Dean Bidgood M.D. "DICOM: a standard for medical imaging", Proc. SPIE 1785, Enabling Technologies for High-Bandwidth Applications, (20 January 1993); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.139249

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