Standardized Medical Imaging Beyond DICOM: The Key to Interoperability


Medical imaging, or radiological imaging, is one of the most vital aspects of modern medicine. It is important at multiple stages, from screening to diagnosing, to post-treatment monitoring. Advanced imaging technologies have allowed the enhanced visualization of internal structures, organs, and tissues with great detail. And with this greater ability, more precise and timely diagnosis of various diseases has become possible. This has significantly enhanced treatment planning and optimization of the care strategy, facilitating accurate monitoring and assessment of treatment effects. The availability of medical imaging data has also opened avenues for further research and innovation in medicine.

There is a huge amount of data that is generated during medical imaging procedures in clinical practice. And this data is the foundation for clinical decision-making. On the research side, advanced methods such as Radiomics allow for assessment of large amounts of medical imaging data. Radiomics seeks to explore the connection between clinical information and high-dimensional quantitative features extracted from massive medical image data. But the collection and integration of such large-scale medical image data becomes somewhat challenging.

This is a challenge primarily because different vendors and imaging modalities utilize different data formats, to make exchanging data more complicated and results in inconsistencies. Second, medical imaging data is generally stored in separate databases to make it less accessible and integrate with other clinical data sources. Finally, medical data exchange is complex due to regulatory and security challenges.

Resolution of these interoperability issues is expensive and difficult. It requires specialized expertise and resources. These issues also give rise to delayed diagnoses, inefficient workflows, and less scope for research and innovation.

Understanding of DICOM and the need to go beyond it 

Medical imaging information is standardized through the DICOM format (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine). DICOM is vital for medical imaging because it defines a standard file format and stipulates a method of communication for transferring images. The advent of DICOM in medical imaging has resolved a major obstacle of storing, accessing, and sharing imaging data. The standard enables the use of medical images among dissimilar systems and devices irrespective of their origin.

The DICOM system integration guarantees that medical imaging data from different modalities and manufacturers is accessible on any DICOM-conformant system. With the standardization of image form and communication protocol, DICOM optimizes efficiency in radiology departments and healthcare facilities, enhancing informed diagnosis and treatment decisions.

The necessity of transcending DICOM in medical imaging data is picking up momentum because of the growing number and complexity of medical imaging data. This data is of utmost value for patient care and clinical research. Furthermore, as the ever-present requirement for complete and longitudinal patient profiles continues to grow, integrating medical images with other clinical data becomes increasingly significant. 

DICOM provides a viable solution for the storage and sharing of images. But it is not the sole solution for the standardization of imaging metadata, clinical context, or annotation practice. These are critical components required for thorough data analysis. By standardizing these elements, we can ensure that imaging information is well-defined and associated with the correct clinical information. This facilitates correct interpretations and enables integration more easily across various health systems. This standardization is fundamental to the development of combined datasets to support sophisticated analytics and building compatible imaging data models.

How Segmed’s Real World Imaging Data (RWiD) helps in addressing imaging interoperability

Segmed provides access to high-quality, regulatory-grade, and tokenized real-world imaging datasets (RWiD) that help in:

  1. Enabling multi-modal data integration
    Segmed seamlessly combines imaging information with a wide range of clinical metadata from Electronic Health Records (EHRs), lab results, genomics, and other real-world data sources. This provides a greater depth of understanding of disease and patient journey, leading to optimal utilization of imaging data. This makes the data easy to share and access across healthcare platforms and industries.
  2. ‍Ensuring regulatory compliance and data privacy
    By providing regulatory-grade and standardized data with advanced privacy-preserving techniques such as tokenization, Segmed provides comprehensive real-world imaging datasets (RWiD). This makes the sharing of critical medical imaging information simple and secure.
  3. ‍Collaborating for research and innovation
    Segmed provides standardized and readily accessible imaging data that supports the collaboration of researchers, pharma, and medical technology innovators. Through easy data sharing, Segmed supports the development and refinement of AI models, clinical trial optimization, and enhanced real-world evidence creation. This collaboration enables pharma and med tech, and AI innovators, to leverage imaging data for predictive analytics, post-market monitoring, and biomarker identification.

Experience the Segmed difference today

Segmed paves the way by offering real-world imaging data (RWiD) that is not just standardized and annotated but also linked to clinical, genomic, and pathological information. Our datasets meet the critical challenges of data fragmentation and inconsistency by offering a multi-modal data ecosystem. Such advanced datasets support various healthcare applications, ranging from clinical trials and drug development to AI-based diagnostics and personalized medicine.

By harmonizing data and integrating de-identified practices, Segmed guarantees that data exchanged between institutions is in line with regulatory requirements and patient confidentiality is retained. Our focus on interoperable imaging datasets facilitates the ability of researchers, clinicians, and industry innovators to work together effectively, drive discovery, and advance patient care globally.

Connect with us today to learn how our RWiD platform can facilitate interoperability and innovation across your healthcare efforts.

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