Apple iPod Used to Store and View Medical Imaging Files

In my September 10, 2004, posting I described how Apples’ iPod with its built-in hard drive made it an interesting tool for Virtual Instrumentation applications. The widespread use of the iPod means there are plenty of them available and in use. Apple sold 4.6 million of the units in the last three months of 2004, driving Apple’s quarterly revenue to $3.5B and giving them a 200% increase in stock price for 2004. You can see more about the impact of the iPod on Apple’s revenue here. The technology behind the IPod is quite interesting. There’s a brief review on how the Apple IPod works here.

Recently, I read about OsiriX which makes software for downloading and storing DICOM images onto the iPod. This allows doctors to carry their patient images with them from one place to the other. The hard drive capability on the iPod is large enough to handle the tremendous size of the images. Technology Review has a nice story on it here.

As the performance in handheld devices improves and the cost comes down, they will find more applications in the domain of virtual instrumentation. One can imagine the use of the iPod for collecting and storing data for easy retrieval while away from the computer or the network in such applications as in-vehicle/in-flight testing, machine condition monitoring, and more.

If you are interested in discussing further about the use of the Apple iPod for Virtual Instrumentation applications, please email me at hall.martin@ni.com.

Best regards,
Hall T. Martin