Smart MIMAS, developed by KDDI Labs, is a system for hospitals which enables medical images to be transferred and viewed on Android tablets and smartphones.

Images can be sent securely to specialists when they are on the road or at home, so in the case of an emergency, they can give quick and accurate instructions to staff at the hospital.

“This system has three main features. One is that images can be viewed quickly. The second feature is that images can be sent at high speed. And the third feature is that it’s very secure. Regarding the first feature, high-speed viewing, this system uses unique memory management technology to enable large images to be viewed quickly. As for the second feature, high-speed transmission, a CTU image contains a very large amount of information, with over 4,000 gradation levels in a single picture. Usually, physicians in the hospital adjust those levels to see the ones they want. But if the pictures are used on a mobile device, then with the Internet until now, the number of levels was limited due to JPEG compression. So physicians couldn’t adjust the pictures they received. Our system uses JPEG2000, so the compression preserves as many levels as possible. That makes it possible to adjust the gradation on a tablet or smartphone. Regarding the third feature, security, we’ve used KDDI’s own encryption technology to achieve a very advanced level of security.”

As the images can be sent quickly and viewed easily, doctors can compare the results from multiple tests and give an accurate diagnosis.

“There may be only a few specialists in a hospital, or they may not come to the hospital very often. In that case, if there’s an emergency, a specialist can look at pictures while outside the hospital, and tell staff on the spot what to do. The specialist can also tell staff, “I’m coming back in. Get everything ready for surgery.” I think that’s a big advantage of this system. In provincial areas, lack of physicians can be a problem, so I think there’ll be a great many cases like that from now on. And in such cases, a specialist at another local hospital can provide support. We think Smart MIMAS could be utilized for that kind of support.”

Smart MIMAS costs about US$65,000 for the server and tablets. KDDI aims to supply 20 sets to hospitals this year.

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