Which standard enables interchange of medical images and related data between radiology devices and information systems?

• A. Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM)
• B. Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG)
• C. Tagged Image File Format (TIFF)
• D. Portable Network Graphics (PNG)

Answer: (A)

Interoperability in radiology relies on a standard that governs both how image data are stored and how systems communicate. DICOM does this by defining a universal file format for medical images and the accompanying metadata, plus a network protocol that lets imaging devices, PACS, RIS, and HIS exchange images and related data across a healthcare enterprise. The metadata includes patient identifiers, study details, modality, body part, and acquisition parameters, ensuring data stay linked to the correct patient and study. Unique identifiers (UIDs) for studies, series, and objects support reliable routing and retrieval.

General image formats like JPEG, TIFF, and PNG store image pixels but do not standardize healthcare metadata or provide built-in workflow and networking capabilities for medical data exchange. They lack the structured interoperability features that DICOM provides, which is why DICOM is the standard chosen for interchange of medical images and related data.

So, DICOM is the standard that enables this interchange.