Introductory chapter: non-invasive diagnostic methods in medicine

Abstract

The main purpose of the book is to present examples of non-invasive methods that allow forautomatic analysis of biomedical images and signals. These methods can be used to support diagnosis, therapy and monitoring of patients’ health [1, 2]. Moreover, the book discusses some selected solutions enabling observation and assessment of health status with the support of information technology. By means of the described methods, it is often also possible to quantify the health status, which allows for the standardization and increased objectivity of the assessment as well as improved diagnosis. These methods are not inconvenient for the patient, which enables to use them in many cases. The current research of non-invasive diagnostic methods uses, among others, standard X-ray images [3, 4], computed tomography images [5, 6], microtomographic images [7] as well as thermographic and ultrasound images [8, 9]. (...)