The active image information system and medical image databases also provide a testbed for advanced research in image databases, with potential applications to process control, power plant outage management and other areas. Four PhD students and eight MS students are trained as a result of this project. Area Background An image information system is an information system for the input, storage, processing, output and communication of a large quantity of images. Recently, advances in image storage technologies have made the creation of very large image databases feasible. Multimedia communications also greatly facilitate the distribution of images across communication networks.
Parallel computers lead to faster image processing systems.
High resolution graphics and dedicated co-processors enable the design of image output subsystems with superior image quality. Wider applications also lead to more sophisticated end users. Image information systems, like other types of information systems, have increasingly become knowledge-based systems, with capabilities to perform many sophisticated tasks by accessing and manipulating domain knowledge. The emphasis on the user has also led to changes in terminology. For example, the scientific data from a chemistry experiment are not images, but can be visualized by the user as such.