Informatics in Medical Imaging

Abstract

Informatics in Medical Imaging presents a comprehensive overview of concepts and principles of medical imaging informatics. The book has 23 chapters divided into six major sections: Introduction to Informatics in Medicine, Standard Protocols in Imaging Informatics, Key Technologies, Information Systems in Healthcare Informatics, Operational Issues, and Medical Informatics beyond the Radiology Department. The book is 367 pages long and is written by 33 contributing authors from around the world, including many well-known experts in their respective fields. Today's technologies of medical imaging and radiation oncology are so complex and computer-driven in the digital era, it is difficult for medical specialists and technologists responsible for their clinical use to know exactly what is happening at the point of patient care. Medical physicists are facing these new challenges too. They are best trained to understand the technologies involved and their applications and are taking more clinical responsibilities than before to ensure that the best patient care is delivered safely and effectively. Medical imaging informatics is about medical image and healthcare information management, integration, storage, transmission, distribution, and security during these processes. In this book, the authors tried to provide an integrated publication dealing with the fundamental and updated issues within the scope of medical imaging informatics. Readers will understand the principal components of modern computing, networks, storage systems, and their extensive applications in medical imaging informatics after reading each focused chapter which give a broad overview. The field of medical imaging informatics is still changing rapidly. Because of the comprehensive nature of this book with many topics in medical imaging informatics, the targeted readers include professionals in medical physics and biomedical imaging, as well as students and researchers. It may also be used as a helpful reference guide for medical physicists, radiologists, and administrative staff seeking additional information on medical imaging informatics. The book discusses basic concepts in medical imaging informatics, data representation and transmission, primary imaging informatics protocols, picture archiving and communication systems (PACS), and the electronic medical record. It also details key instrumentation and data mining technologies used in medical imaging informatics, typical information systems used within imaging departments such as orders and result systems, acquisition systems, reporting systems, archives, and information-display systems, as well as practical operational issues. For HL7, DICOM, and IHE that are fundamental communication protocols used to support various aspects of information in the health care enterprise, not only basic concepts are discussed but also in-depth information is covered, making them useful for readers with different backgrounds in medical imaging informatics. Readers with administrative responsibilities may be interested in special topics discussions about equipment procurement, operational issues, and ethics in the radiology department. In addition to radiology, issues concerning other medical specialties such as pathology, cardiology, dermatology, surgery, and radiation oncology that use digital imaging are also addressed in the book. Although these 23 chapters are written by many authors, unlike an integrated one by only a few authors, most chapters are well written and easy to read even for readers without much prior knowledge in medical imaging informatics. Since this book is one volume of the series “Imaging in Medical Diagnosis and Therapy,” some chapters may have been better included in other volumes of the series. With abundant respective information from various resources, this book is an attempt to cover fundamental principles and state-of-the-art technologies as well as major challenges for future advances with the radiology and radiation oncology community in mind. From background information in medical informatics including a detailed overview of key technologies such as operating systems, networks, standard protocols, digital storage, and image compression in Sections I–III, to principles of PACS, display technologies, hospital information systems, and special topics about operational issues in medical imaging and beyond the radiology department in Sections IV–VI, the book provides a comprehensive survey of the field of medical imaging informatics. Overall, this book is well written by experts in their respective fields and has good coverage. Readers may also obtain a wealth of information in medical imaging informatics from references listed at the end of each chapter which supplement materials discussed in this book. Yu Liu is a Senior Imaging Physicist certified by the American Board of Radiology in the Radiology Department at St. Luke's Medical Center of Aurora Healthcare, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He has been involved in PACS implementation, operation, and quality control since 1997. His expertise and current interests are in PACS and MRI physics.