Imperial puts medical records on-line

MEDICAL records could soon be fully digitised and include interactive multimedia features thanks to new work from Imperial College, London. A team led by Richard Kitney, director of the centre for biological and medical systems at Imperial, has written the software for the new Digital Image Communication in Medicine (DICOM) system which allows detailed digital patient records, including video footage, to be sent around the world in seconds. The team's software enables records, which can include footage of operations and endoscopes, to be transfered to personal computers.