As technology finds its way into every aspect of medicine, great advances have been made in the field of radiology. Radiology once depended on simple two-dimensional images that needed to be manually developed and fixed prior to viewing.

Medical imaging has progressed by leaps and bounds over the last few decades. Medical imaging today plays a vital role in the diagnosis and treatment planning of even simple conditions. With advances in the actual process of imaging, headway has also been made in the process of viewing, storing, and sharing images after their acquisition.

The internal organs and bones of our body are covered by skin and other tissue barriers, and are therefore not visible to the naked eye. The term ‘medical imaging’ is used to refer to techniques that allow us to view the interior of the body.

Medical imaging technology has come a long way from simple radiographs and is now represented by advanced, digitalized modalities such as CT and MRI. As the use of medical imaging becomes more widespread, there is a need to improve on other aspects of the workflow associated with imaging—reading the images and forming diagnostic reports as well as proper storage and retrieval of medical images.

When you hear the term ‘medical imaging’, the first picture that comes to mind is that of a radiograph, or an X-ray as it is more commonly known. While radiographs are the oldest and still the most frequently employed method of medical imaging, there is so much more to this intriguing and innovative field of science today.

One of the most frustrating things that can happen inside a doctor’s private practice is trying to view a patient’s images from a recent scan in vain. The computer is brand new, there is a high-speed internet line available, and the online DICOM viewer that the doctor recently downloaded should open the images—except it doesn’t!

DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine) is a standard format that enables medical professionals to view, store, and share medical images irrespective of their geographic location or the devices they use, as long as those devices support the format. DICOM images need to be viewed through specific software called DICOM viewers that can read and display the format.

From CIS, HIS, EMR, and EHR, to RIS, DICOM, PACS, and cloud PACS, there are endless terms and abbreviations for the many different types of medical imaging information systems out there. One of the common pitfalls of professional jargon in any field is that terms get a bit mixed up, conflated, or misused every now and then and through day-to-day communication.