C: A System for the Indexing, Storage, and Retrieval of Medical Images by Content

Abstract

Image indexing, storage, and retrieval based on pictorial content is a feature of image database systems which is becoming of increasing importance in many application domains. Medical image database systems, which support the retrieval of images generated by different modalities based on their pictorial content, will provide added value to future generation Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (PACS), and can be used as a diagnostic decision support tool and as a tool for medical research and training. This paper presents the architecture and features of I 2 C, a system for the indexing, storage, and retrieval of medical images by content. A unique design feature of this architecture is that it also serves as a platform for the implementation and performance evaluation of image description methods and retrieval strategies. I 2 C is a modular and extensible system, which has been developed based on object-oriented principles. It consists of a set of cooperating modules which..