Development of Medical Image Compression Techniques

Progressive transmission of medical images through Internet has emerged as a promising protocol for teleradiology applications. The major issue that arises in teleradiology is the difficulty of transmitting large volume of medical data with relatively low bandwidth. Image compression techniques have increased the viability by reducing the bandwidth requirement and cost-effective delivery of medical images for primary diagnosis. In this paper, we have presented an effective algorithm to compress and to reconstruct digital imaging and communications in medicine (DICOM) images. DICOM is a standard for handling, storing, printing and transmitting information in medical imaging. The algorithm consists of two stages: DICOM images are first decomposed using generalized Cohen-Daubechies-Feauveau biorthoganal wavelet and the wavelet coefficients are encoded using set partitioning in hierarchical trees (SPIHT). This method provides a way to generate consistent quality images at a lower bit rate compared to JPEG. In this method, Cohen-Daubechies-Feauveau biorthoganal wavelet is used along with SPIHT to provide high compression ratio and also good resolution.

1. Introduction

Recently the amount of medical diagnostic data produced by hospitals has increased exponentially. Furthermore, for telemedicine applications, transmitting a large amount of digital data through a bandwidth-limited channel becomes a heavy burden. The storage and transmission problems can be solved by digital compression techniques.