Design and implementation of an Internet-based medical image viewing system

Electronic medical image viewers combined with picture archival and communication systems have become a common part of how hospitals manage their images. Typically, these electronic viewers are platform-dependent and are designed to make use of images stored on a workstation or local area network. However, the rise of the Internet and the ubiquity of the Web browser open up a wide range of new possibilities for distributing and accessing these images. The Internet allows us to pull information distributed across many geographically separated data sources, while the Web browser provides a common environment from where programs can be launched. This document details the design of an Internet-based, platform-independent medical image viewing system that harnesses the potential of these technologies. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.