Image quality, compression and segmentation in medicine.

This review considers image quality in the context of the evolving technology of image compression, and the effects image compression has on perceived quality. The concepts of lossless, perceptually lossless, and diagnostically lossless but lossy compression are described, as well as the possibility of segmented images, combining lossy compression with perceptually lossless regions of interest. The different requirements for diagnostic and training images are also discussed. The lack of established methods for image quality evaluation is highlighted and available methods discussed in the light of the information that may be inferred from them. Confounding variables are also identified. Areas requiring further research are illustrated, including differences in perceptual quality requirements for different image modalities, image regions, diagnostic subtleties, and tasks. It is argued that existing tools for measuring image quality need to be refined and new methods developed. The ultimate aim should be the development of standards for image quality evaluation which take into consideration both the task requirements of the images and the acceptability of the images to the users.