Flexible and secure Internet-based discussion of variable medical image data

Patients with rare diseases are often treated in multicentric trials spread over national boarders. Mailing, archiving and retrieval of forms, radiographic images and images of specimens account for a substantial workload at trial centers and participating institutions like hospitals and physician offices. The design of an object clearinghouse by using Internet technologies promised to come up to prior investigated expectations. The clearinghouse had—among other requirements—to be ready to implement new features easily, to be as independent from time and place as possible and reasonable, to work in several heterogeneous computing environments of the medical and technical experts, to use a very simple client and to be cheap. Especially, the DICOM-Standard had to be considered as well as the management of access rights in a role-based model. The clearinghouse is implemented and is currently under practical evaluation within a pilot project.