File zip scores big in medical imaging

A method of compressing huge medical images so they can be transmitted accurately, quickly and inexpensively via the internet has been developed in Singapore.

“This is a brand new, paradigm-shifting technology,” The Business Times quoted MatrixView Managing Director Ravindran Govindan as saying. “It manages to squeeze images to such a small size that they can be delivered even on dial-up lines.”

No crucial data will be lost in transmission and the image will be of diagnostic quality, the firm said in unveiling the solution called “Matrixiti”.

The technology enables higher transmission speeds and a greater data compression rate of three to four times, compared to the two-to-one ratio of traditional systems.

A single dermatology image can take up as much as 30 megabytes of space, while a cardiology study can churn out 200 megabytes to one gigabyte of data.

Turnaround time can be reduced dramatically with Matrixiti, Ravi said, opening up opportunities for day-time offshore radiology services.

MatrixView told the newspaper it is eyeing India, the Middle East and North America to market the product.

The technology may also be applicable in telecommunications, MatrixView said, by potentially bringing video-on-demand quality images to phones.