Diagnostically Acceptable Irreversible Compression

In medical imaging applications, Diagnostically Acceptable Irreversible Compression, abbreviated DAIC, is the application of irreversible compression in medical imaging to produce a result that has no negative impact on the ability of the user to perform a particular diagnostic task (contribute to making a medical diagnosis using the image). The term was first introduced at a workshop on irreversible compression convened by the European Society of Radiology (ESR) in Palma de Mallorca October 13, 2010, the results of which were reported in a subsequent position paper.

It is not a trivial problem to establish the criteria for whether or not a particular irreversible compression scheme applied with particular parameters to a particular individual image, or category of images, avoids the introduction of some quantifiable risk of a diagnostic error for any particular diagnostic task.