Preface This book roughly follows the process of care, illustrating the techniques involved in medical imaging informatics. Our intention in this text is to provide a roadmap for the different topics that are involved in this field: in many cases, the topics covered in the ensuing chapters are themselves worthy of lengthy descriptions, if not an entire book As a result, when possible the authors have attempted to provide both seminal and current references for the reader to pursue additional details For the imaging novice and less experienced informaticians, in Part I of this book Performing the Imaging Exam, we cover the current state of medical imaging and set the foundation for understanding the role of imaging and informatics in routine clinical Chapter 1(Introduction) provides an introduction to the field of medical imaging informatics and its role in transforming healthcare research and delivery. The interwoven nature of imaging with preventative, diagnostic, and therapeutic elements of patient care are touched upon relative to the process of care. a brief historic perspective is provided to illustrate both past and current challenges of the discipline Chapter 2(An Introduction to Imaging Anatomy Physiology) starts with a review of clinical imaging modalities(i.e, projectional x-ray, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance(MR), ultrasound) and a primer on imaging anatomy and physiology. The modality review encompasses core physics principles and image formation techniques, along with brief descriptions of present and future directions for each imaging modality. To familiarize non-radiologists with medical imaging and the human body, the second part of this chapter presents an overview of anatomy and physiology from the perspective of projectional and cross- sectional imaging. A few systems(neurological, respiratory, breast) are covered in detail, with additional examples from other major systems(gastrointestinal urinary,cardiac, musculoskeletal More experienced readers will likely benefit from starting with Part Il of this book Integrating Imaging into the Patient Record, which examines topics related to communicating and presenting imaging data alongside the growing wealth of clinical Once imaging and other clinical data are acquired, Chapter 3(Information Systems Architectures) tackles the question of how we store and access imaging and other patient information as part of an increasingly distributed and heterogeneous EMr. A description of major information systems(.g, PACS; hospital informa- tion systems, HIS; etc. )as well as the different data standards employed today to represent and communicate data(e. g, HL7, DICOM) are provided. A discussion of newer distributed architectures as they apply to clinical databases(peer-to-peer grid computing) and information processing is given, examining issues of scal- ability and searching. Different informatics-driven applications are used to high- light ongoing efforts with respect to the development of information architectures, including telemedicine, IHE, and collaborative clinical research involving imaging After the data is accessed, the challenge is to integrate and to present patient information in such a way to support the physicians cognitive tasks. The longitud- inal EMR, in conjunction with the new types of information available to clinicians, has created an almost overwhelming flow of data that must be fully understood toxi Preface This book roughly follows the process of care, illustrating the techniques involved in medical imaging informatics. Our intention in this text is to provide a roadmap for the different topics that are involved in this field: in many cases, the topics covered in the ensuing chapters are themselves worthy of lengthy descriptions, if not an entire book. As a result, when possible the authors have attempted to provide both seminal and current references for the reader to pursue additional details. For the imaging novice and less experienced informaticians, in Part I of this book, Performing the Imaging Exam, we cover the current state of medical imaging and set the foundation for understanding the role of imaging and informatics in routine clinical practice: ƒ Chapter 1 (Introduction) provides an introduction to the field of medical imaging informatics and its role in transforming healthcare research and delivery. The interwoven nature of imaging with preventative, diagnostic, and therapeutic elements of patient care are touched upon relative to the process of care. A brief historic perspective is provided to illustrate both past and current challenges of the discipline. ƒ Chapter 2 (An Introduction to Imaging Anatomy & Physiology) starts with a review of clinical imaging modalities (i.e., projectional x-ray, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance (MR), ultrasound) and a primer on imaging anatomy and physiology. The modality review encompasses core physics principles and image formation techniques, along with brief descriptions of present and future directions for each imaging modality. To familiarize non-radiologists with medical imaging and the human body, the second part of this chapter presents an overview of anatomy and physiology from the perspective of projectional and cross￾sectional imaging. A few systems (neurological, respiratory, breast) are covered in detail, with additional examples from other major systems (gastrointestinal, urinary, cardiac, musculoskeletal). More experienced readers will likely benefit from starting with Part II of this book, Integrating Imaging into the Patient Record, which examines topics related to communicating and presenting imaging data alongside the growing wealth of clinical information: ƒ Once imaging and other clinical data are acquired, Chapter 3 (Information Systems & Architectures) tackles the question of how we store and access imaging and other patient information as part of an increasingly distributed and heterogeneous EMR. A description of major information systems (e.g., PACS; hospital informa￾tion systems, HIS; etc.) as well as the different data standards employed today to represent and communicate data (e.g., HL7, DICOM) are provided. A discussion of newer distributed architectures as they apply to clinical databases (peer-to-peer, grid computing) and information processing is given, examining issues of scal￾ability and searching. Different informatics-driven applications are used to high￾light ongoing efforts with respect to the development of information architectures, including telemedicine, IHE, and collaborative clinical research involving imaging. ƒ After the data is accessed, the challenge is to integrate and to present patient information in such a way to support the physician’s cognitive tasks. The longitud￾inal EMR, in conjunction with the new types of information available to clinicians, has created an almost overwhelming flow of data that must be fully understood to