In this paper, we presented our interactive query and visualization software that is the first of its kind for medical imaging applications. We have also shown that the WWW successfully interacts with the individual components necessary to facilitate interactive query and visualization of medical images. The visualization server performs well for 3D brain images and work is in progress to query a multimodality image database for epilepsy research and surgical planning. The Web experience is so new that it is difficult to predict all of the features that will be integrated into Web servers or client browsers for medical imaging applications. This reported work is just the beginning of investigating the WWW for disseminating and viewing medical images.
Many technical issues remain.
For example, how to ensure data security and authenticity once the patient information are opened to the ubiquitous Web. Or, the use of more expressive, interactive programming language, such as Java, in developing efficient application programs. Efficient image compression algorithms must also be developed to optimize the transfer of large image data through the Web. VNR, New York, 1995. J Pitkow., et al.