Technologies

A method and system for simultaneous display of a radiograph film and a digital image associated therewith. A film is loaded onto a viewing box; identification information is obtained from the film; a digital image associated with the film is retrieved from an image database based on the identification information and is displayed. The results of a CAD scheme can be applied to or superimposed on the retrieved image. The image retrieval can be delayed until the film has been displayed on the viewing box at a specific location for a preset minimum amount of time. Other images or information can also be retrieved. When a diagnostician is evaluating an original image, for example, an X-ray film, it is useful and may, in fact, be necessary for the diagnostician to be able to obtain the computer processed image related to that original image and display them side-by-side for simultaneous viewing. This invention provides for a hybrid film-to-monitor interface which allows original images to be viewed side-by-side with an appropriate computer processed image. Each image entered into a database has unique identifiers associated therewith and when a film image corresponding to that image is placed on a viewing box, the corresponding appropriate database image is retrieved based on identification information which is automatically obtained from the film image. Preferably the search for a database image begins only after a film image has been displayed on the viewing box at a specific location, such as bottom center, for a certain minimum amount of time.