There are two popular image compression methodologies: Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) and wavelet. JPEG is most common and is included in the DICOM standard. Wavelet allows higher compression ratios and is being investigated by the DICOM committee for standardization and inclusion in a future update of the DICOM standard. ECRI (Anon, 2001) recommends that, for now, only lossless compression be used on any image that will be read by a radiologist, at least until the legal issues surrounding the use of lossy compression are resolved. In addition, ECRI recommends the use of JPEG compression until wavelet compression standards are approved.