The scope for a rapid digitiser of mammograms and other large-file, high-resolution images

A new high-speed, high-resolution digitiser has provided a facility with which new means of communication and interaction become possible.

• 1. The DicomNow Digitiser camera system will scan mammography film at a 16-bit depth in less than 1 second.

• 2. The thresholds for compression of mammogram images have previously been confirmed at a ratio between 65:1 and 80:1.

• 3. New opportunities for transmission between centres; difficult analogue films can be digitised quickly, then compressed and sent for consensus/arbitration views from an expert panel or submitted to computer-aided diagnosis.

• 4. Applications to multidisciplinary team meetings in which all types of images, patient information and pathology are shared via any Internet link in a virtual meeting room.

• 5. The speed of DicomNow and the compression system removes time limitations for telemedicine communication speeds in mammography.

• 6. Archive potential to reduce storage cost and support disaster-recovery initiatives.

• 7. Modular training programmes will benefit students with access to high-resolution images via the scanning and compression technology.

• 8. Higher level studies of subtle features of image interpretation for validated case studies.

Each of these elements will be expanded to illustrate the effects of high-speed digitising on breast cancer management.