This white paper explores the technical challenges and solutions for acquiring (capturing) and managing enterprise images, particularly those involving visible light applications. The types of acquisition devices used for various general-purpose photography and specialized applications including dermatology, endoscopy, and anatomic pathology are reviewed. The formats and standards used, and the associated metadata requirements and communication protocols for transfer and workflow are considered. Particular emphasis is placed on the importance of metadata capture in both order- and encounter-based workflow. The benefits of using DICOM to provide a standard means of recording and accessing both metadata and image and video data are considered, as is the role of IHE and FHIR.
Keywords: Anatomic pathology; Archive; Dermatology; Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM); Digital image management; EXIF; Endoscopy; Enterprise Image Repository; Enterprise PACS; Enterprise imaging; Enterprise imaging platform; FHIR; Image compression; Image distribution; Image file format; Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE); Interoperability; Medical image sharing; Metadata; Migration; Multimedia; PACS; PACS implementation; Photography; Vendor neutral archive (VNA); Visible light; Whole slide imaging; XDS; XDS-I.