Brief History of DICOM Viewers

The term “DICOM Viewer” can be slightly confusing, as it implies that such a viewer is a proprietary machine. Actually, DICOM viewers can be any standard PC with the proper software, along with a high-end video card and sufficient processing power. However, a computer functioning as a DICOM viewer requires an exceptionally clear, high-resolution monitor.

The Origins of DICOM

The term “DICOM” itself refers to a standard imaging format, much like “.jpg,” “.png,” “.bmp” and “.tiff.” It stands for “Digital Imaging and Communication in Medicine,” and is used to view and store images created with medical imaging devices such as the MRI, CT and the X-Ray.

Thirty years ago, each manufacturer of an imaging machine had a virtual “lock” on the ability to view the images made with that machine. For example, if the hospital had an MRI made by Company X and the radiology clinic across town had one made by Company Y, it was almost impossible for one institution’s equipment to view the imaging created by the other.

DICOM has been an ongoing effort on the part of the radiology community to standardize medical images in a way that can be viewed by any authorized person using a generic type of device. It is the third version of this standard, released in 1993 and still undergoing upgrades and modifications. Today, it is almost universally accepted among both manufacturers of medical imaging equipment and health care institutions and their IT departments.

The DICOM Difference

What makes the DICOM standard different from other image file formats is that it saves information in “data sets;” in addition to the image information itself, a DICOM file contains specific patient information, thus eliminating the risk that this information will get separated from the image itself.

DICOM Viewers and e-Film Workstation

The Ohio State University Medical Center was the first civilian institutions to have what we would recognize as a DICOM Viewer. Known as a PACS, or Picture Archiving and Communication System, the device cost over $250,000 when it was put into place in the early 1990s. Nonetheless, within ten years, the system had paid for itself four times over by reducing the cost and time required to diagnose a case and eliminating the need for toxic and expensive film development chemicals. Today, an affordable PACS can be installed in any clinic at prices starting around $5000. By installing DICOM Viewer software such as eFilm Workstation (TM), any moderately-priced personal computer can be used to view medical images over a local area network (LAN) or the World Wide Web.