Teleradiology is a book that covers an important and rapidly evolving topic. It was edited by Sajeesh Kumar from Pittsburgh, PA, and by Elizabeth Krupinski from Tucson, AZ, and was written by multiple authors from a variety of international institutions.
The book is suitable for beginners in teleradiology as it starts with an introduction to the essentials and offers a rather exhaustive glossary. It is, however, also meant for colleagues who are already well versed with some aspects of the field as it covers quite a broad range of topics.
A major focus of the book is the feasibility of teleradiology with an emphasis on technological aspects. Image compression, image transfer, image archiving systems and security aspects are all covered in several chapters. In addition, special applications of teleradiology are discussed, for example teleradiology multimedia messaging services in the provision of an emergency neurosurgical service, ultrasound image transmission via camera phones, collaboration over the web during interventional radiology procedures or tele-planning in image-guided dental implantology. In addition, web-based medical systems for gynecological-obstetrical radiological data and robotized echocardiography are described. One chapter, written by authors from the US Army Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center, focusses on the application of teleradiology in the military, including applications in Balkan operations, in Kosovo, in Afghanistan and in Iraq.
The book also describes teleradiology applications from Malaysian and northern Finland perspectives. In addition, radiologist and patient satisfaction as well as economic and legal aspects are discussed.
In summary, this book covers a very wide range of perspectives on teleradiology and is well written by a number of experts. It is recommended for anyone entering this rapidly evolving field.