Retrieval of DICOM echocardiographic images using the diagnosis and biological structure features as search keywords

This paper presents a method for DICOM echocardiographic images retrieval using the biological structures and diagnosis features as search keywords. The main idea is to introduce for each type of echocardiographic investigation a structured reporting based on a formalized medical image description pattern. According to this pattern, the patient´s ultrasound images are described in terms of biological structures and their features. In this way the retrieval of relevant images using the features as search keywords is facilitated. A database containing relevant images and the associated qualifying information was developed. This database allows carrying out research and educational processes