Analysis of DICOM Image Compression Alternative Using Huffman Coding

Abstract

Compression, in general, aims to reduce file size, with or without decreasing data quality of the original file. Digital Imaging and Communication in Medicine (DICOM) is a medical imaging file standard used to store multiple information such as patient data, imaging procedures, and the image itself. With the rising usage of medical imaging in clinical diagnosis, there is a need for a fast and secure method to share large number of medical images between healthcare practitioners, and compression has always been an option. This work analyses the Huffman coding compression method, one of the lossless compression techniques, as an alternative method to compress a DICOM file in open PACS settings. The idea of the Huffman coding compression method is to provide codeword with less number of bits for the symbol that has a higher value of byte frequency distribution. Experiments using different type of DICOM images are conducted, and the analysis on the performances in terms of compression ratio and compression/decompression time, as well as security, is provided. The experimental results showed that the Huffman coding technique has the capability to compress the DICOM file up to 1 : 3.7010 ratio and up to 72.98% space savings.

Experimental Setup Employed in the Operating Room Based on Virtual and Mixed Reality: Analysis of Pros and Cons in Open Abdomen Surgery

“…The MRTK foundation package has been used as core system, whereas the scene system contained in MRTK/Examples/Experimental/Demos/ExamplesHub/Scenes/ has been used to load the scene and the content necessary to build the controls (i.e., visual buttons) or the visual tips employed for user interaction. Additionally, since Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) is the widely used standard for the communication and management of medical imaging information [ 23 ], the open-source DICOM_viewer, released by the University of Auckland, has been used as starting point to implement a DICOM player, making it available on all the HoloLens devices used by each surgical team's member. The DICOM player, which is based on the Unity Game Engine, has been developed in order to enumerate all the DICOM images needed for each surgery procedure.…”

Application of ultrasound molecular imaging based on compressed sensing reconstruction algorithm to phase change drug-loaded PLGA nanoparticles targeting breast cancer MCF-7 Cells

“…The representative PFC NP is temperature-free and non-toxic due to its chemical properties. 14,15 It can reach tumor cells in the vascular endothelial space and undergo a liquid-to-gas phase transition to enhance the ultrasound imaging, so it has been widely used in ultrasound molecular imaging. [16][17][18][19] You et al 20 Prepared a multifunctional Fe3O4-PFH/PLGA nanoparticle, which undergoes a phase change in the PFH core of highly focused ultrasound and can work in synergy with highintensity focused ultrasound to effectively improve the therapeutic effect of tumors.…”

Breaking Barriers in Emerging Biomedical Applications

“…It has been demonstrated in recent analyses of medical image compression algorithms that techniques not included in the DICOM standard can provide a greater compression ratio [ 120 ]. It should also be mentioned that different compression ratios and approaches may be optimal for particular modalities or diagnostic tasks.…”