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The Multimedia Medical Data Archive and Retrieval Server has been installed at the imaging science and information systems (ISIS) center in Georgetown University Medical Center to provide medical data archive and retrieval support for medical researchers. The medical data includes text, images, sound, and video. All medical data is keyword indexed using a database management system and placed temporarily in a staging area and then transferred to a StorageTek one terabyte tape library system with a robotic arm for permanent archive. There are two methods of interaction with the system. The first method is to use a web browser with HTML functions to perform insert, query, update, and retrieve operations. These generate dynamic SQL calls to the database and produce StorageTek API calls to the tape library. The HTML functions consist of a database, StorageTek interface, HTTP server, common gateway interface, and Java programs. The second method is to issue a DICOM store command, which is translated by the system's DICOM server to SQL calls and then produce StorageTek API calls to the tape library. The system performs as both an Internet and a DICOM server using standard protocols such as HTTP, HTML, Java, and DICOM. Users with proper authentication can log on to the server from anywhere on the Internet using a standard web browser resulting in a user-friendly, open environment, and platform independent solution for archiving multimedia medical data. It represents a complex integration of different components including a robotic tape storage system, database, user-interface, WWW protocols, and TCP/IP networking. The user will only deal with the WWW and DICOM server components of the system, the database and robotic tape library system are transparent and the user will not know that the medical data is stored on magnetic tapes. The server provides the researchers a cost-effective tool for archiving and retrieving medical data across a TCP/IP network environment. It will serve as a medium to exchange information between researchers at Georgetown University and those from other institutions.
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