Within the field of health informatics this International Standard addresses the exchange of digital images, and information related to the production and management of those images, between both medical imaging equipment and systems concerned with the management and communication of that information. This International Standard is intended to facilitate interoperability of medical imaging equipment and information systems by specifying: - a set of protocols to be followed by systems claiming conformance to this International Standard. - the syntax and semantics of commands and associated information data models that ensure effective communication between implementations of this International Standard; - information that shall be supplied with an implementation for which conformance to this International Standard is claimed. This International Standard does not specify: - the implementation details of any features of this International Standard on a device or systems for which conformance is claimed; - the overall set of features and functions to be expected from a larger system implemented by integrating a group of devices and systems each claiming conformance to this International Standard; - a testing/validation procedure to assess an implementation's conformance to this International Standard. Within health informatics, both medical imaging systems and equipment concerned with the management and communication of medical image data may also be required to interoperate with systems in other areas of health informatics. The communication of these data with these other areas may be in the scope of other standards.