Image Retrieval: Application in Medicine

The aim of each information retrieval is to present relevant information to the right user at the right time. Images as a kind of information can convey a large volume of information. In medicine، the most common use of images is in education، research and medical diagnosis. This wide variety of usage refers to the uprising importance of imaging through various fields of medicine. Therefore، current advances in medical imaging techniques and frequent use for example، in decision making systems and evidence-based medicine depicts the high necessity of medical images retrieval. This paper introduced text-based and content-based image retrieval systems، the application of the image systems especially in medicine. Some existing systems are described. Finally it was suggested although images have some features different from texts but some techniques in text retrieval such as artificial intelligence and relevance feedback can be used to improve the image retrieval systems.