Access To Digital Images Research Articles

Digital image access: an exploration of the best practices of online resources

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present the results of the first phase of a research project that aims to develop a bilingual interface for the retrieval of digital images. The main objective of this extensive exploration was to identify the characteristics and functionalities of existing search interfaces and similar tools available for image retrieval. Design/methodology/approach – An examination of 159 resources that offer image retrieval was carried out. First, general search functionalities offered by content-based image retrieval systems and text-based systems are described. Second, image retrieval in a multilingual context is explored. Finally, the search functionalities provided by four types of organisations (libraries, museums, image search engines and stock photography databases) are investigated. Findings – The analysis of functionalities offered by online image resources revealed a very high degree of consistency within the types of resources examined. The resources found to be the most navigable and interesting to use were those built with standardised vocabularies combined with a clear, compact and efficient user interface. The analysis also highlights that many search engines are equipped with multiple language support features. A translation device, however, is implemented in only a few search engines. Originality/value – The examination of best practices for image retrieval and the analysis of the real users' expectations, which will be obtained in the next phase of the research project, constitute the foundation upon which the search interface model that the authors propose to develop is based. It also provides valuable suggestions and guidelines for search engine researchers, designers and developers.

A patient-centric distribution architecture for medical image sharing.

Over the past decade, rapid development of imaging technologies has resulted in the introduction of improved imaging devices, such as multi-modality scanners that produce combined positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) images. The adoption of picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) in hospitals have dramatically improved the ability to digitally share medical image studies via portable storage, mobile devices and the Internet. This has in turn led to increased productivity, greater flexibility, and improved communication between hospital staff, referring physicians, and outpatients. However, many of these sharing and viewing capabilities are limited to proprietary vendor-specific applications. Furthermore, there are still interoperability and deployment issues which reduce the rate of adoption of such technologies, thus leaving many stakeholders, particularly outpatients and referring physicians, with access to only traditional still images with no ability to view or interpret the data in full. In this paper, we present a distribution architecture for medical image display across numerous devices and media, which uses a preprocessor and an in-built networking framework to improve compatibility and promote greater accessibility of medical data. Our INVOLVE2 system consists of three main software modules: 1) a preprocessor, which collates and converts imaging studies into a compressed and distributable format; 2) a PACS-compatible workflow for self-managing distribution of medical data, e.g. via CD USB, network etc; 3) support for potential mobile and web-based data access. The focus of this study was on cultivating patient-centric care, by allowing outpatient users to comfortably access and interpret their own data. As such, the image viewing software included on our cross-platform CDs was designed with a simple and intuitive user-interface (UI) for use by outpatients and referring physicians. Furthermore, digital image access via mobile devices or web-based access enables users to engage with their data in a convenient and user-friendly way. We evaluated the INVOLVE2 system using a pilot deployment in a hospital environment.

Book Review: Digital image access & retrieval: papers presented at the 1996 Clinic on Library Applications of Data Processing, March 24-26, 1996

Book Review: Digital image access & retrieval: papers presented at the 1996 Clinic on Library Applications of Data Processing, March 24-26, 1996

The Technology Context

Library professionals have a wealth of experience to build on as we turn to digitizing our materials. We already know how to effectively identify, store, and retrieve information to serve our researchers' needs. We need only to adapt and apply our skills to the digital realm. The practices we have used to create microfilm surrogates, for instance, encourage adhering to standards, capturing at the highest resolution feasible, and optimizing legibility while retaining a sense of the artifact, and are equally valid in the creation of digital surrogates. The steps we take to prepare materials for microfilming are appropriate for preparing materials for digitizing. In the area of establishing capture requirements and verifying that these requirements have been met, Cornell University has made real progress in modifying and applying the standards for assessing microfilm resolution quality to the digital-imaging process. 1 Another successful practice, the creation of finding aids to provide local access to archival collections, offers even greater value when made accessible over the Internet. When digitized, the finding aids provide remote access to a vast number of archives at a greater level of detail than has traditionally been available to the remote researcher. UC Berkeley has forged the way in its 1993-1995 finding aid project, 2 and many archives and organizations are helping to carry this work forward to result in a widely accepted standard in the library, archive, and museum worlds. Collaboration on standards among libraries, educational institutions, government, and the private sector will be critical in ensuring that information digitized by one entity can be accessed and retrieved by another. The University of Michigan Conspectus project is making real advances in developing a smart interface to help users discover appropriate resources.3 Other traditional library practices need merely to be transferred to the digital world. Columbia University started us down the path that led to the adoption of the MARC 856 field for linking to digital objects. Catalog records are now acquiring links to digital finding aids and surrogates. Librarians' experience with location-independent naming will help in the organization and retrieval of digital resources. Participants in the RLG Digital Image Access Project implemented different approaches to hierarchical metadata and studied the effect of integrating the results. 4 Libraries' current automated systems will serve as starting points for future systems that will offer better navigation of the various levels of cataloging and various types of digital objects. The major leap from card drawers to local OPACs positions us for a minor hop to worldwide Internet accessibility for library users-already well underway at many institutions.

Why Make Images Available Online

Imagine you are an architectural historian located in New York City doing research on the Empire State Building. You are particularly interested in finding pictures of the building and its immediate surroundings in the early part of the 20th century. You decide to visit your favorite research institution, the New York Public Library, to investigate possible sources of information. A librarian sends you to the Division of Art, Prints, and Photographs, where you begin your search for images. Your research indicates that the Avery Library at Columbia University has an Empire State Building archive and that the photographer Karl Struss, whose collection is at the Amon Carter Museum, also photographed New York City between 1908 and 1917, and therefore might be a resource for pertinent images for your study. Discussion with the division librarian leads you to an online resource located in the department, the Digital Image Access Project online database, containing the images and records from photographic collections from nine institutions across the country. You sit down at the designated terminal and, after searching simultaneously across all nine databases using the term Empire State Building, you cull a series of small images which display together on your screen. You select six of these images to enlarge and further study on the screen before you decide to request photographic copies of three images: two from the Avery Library collection and one from the Struss collection. You decide to download the three images to some floppy disks so that you can study them further at home, noting as you do the copyright restrictions on the images. You then speak to the librarian about contacting the two institutions to arrange for 8' × 10 photographs to be made. Your work complete, you gather up your things and prepare to leave. The entire process has taken you about an hour and a half. The Research Libraries Group Digital Image Access Project (DIAP), which has been the focus of our efforts over the past year and a half, had as its central goal the exploration of the capabilities of digital image technology for providing effective access to photographic materials. Photographic materials, which are a subset of a broader class of visual materials that includes slides, drawings, paintings, maps, plans, posters, and all manner of two-dimensional visual works, can be scattered within any given collection or across collections, may be voluminous in size, fragile in form, and are generally difficult to manage and handle. Digitization of these unique visual resources can provide users of our collections unprecedented access to these materials in an effective, efficient manner while preserving the artifactual integrity of the individual items. I will talk today about the user perspective on digitizing visual materials: what are the benefits for the users of our collections, and how does digitization enrich the scholarly and nonscholarly community of users?.

Book Review: Digital Imaging Technology for Preservation; RLG Digital Image Access Project; Scholarship in the New Information Environment; and Selecting Library and Archive Collections for Digital Reformatting

Book Review: Digital Imaging Technology for Preservation; RLG Digital Image Access Project; Scholarship in the New Information Environment; and Selecting Library and Archive Collections for Digital Reformatting

Digital image access project, RLG meeting March 31- April 1,1995

Digital image access project, RLG meeting March 31- April 1,1995