A Standard Product Interface For Digital Medical Imaging Equipment

Rapid changes in digital technology and its application to medical equipment demand a standard communications interface which system integrators can use as a common and stable link between equipment of different type, manufacture and vintage. A Standard Product Interface fulfilling this need is proposed for consideration for industry-wide use. It relies on a message-passing protocol with a standard message format, standard message transport functions, and a separate physical link to make it independent of a particular imaging equipment, local area network, or medical information system.