A database manager of biomedical images.

In order to allow an efficient archiving and retrieval of biomedical images, PACS would include an image DBMS. As biomedical images have complex structures we developed a specific DBMS over a relational one. The medical image database manager ensures a data description that takes into account data semantics so that consistency or existential constraints may be verified. It provides a unique language to retrieve images no matter what their storage format. It encompasses the queries of the user which constitute a filter over associated data. The manager can handle changes in the environment of the image. We implemented a manager prototype to show the validity of logical access possibilities. The user need no longer know the structure of the image database to access data. The logical access allows retrieval of images, whatever the architecture of the base. An automatic query construction consists of three functional levels including the interfaces towards the external environment which ensure a logical independence from the database, a query generator which creates the correspondence between the user's query and physical access queries, a dictionary which contains the structure of the image data and consistency constraints.