Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM)

Oleg Pianykh received his graduate training in Applied Math and Computer Science, but has been fascinated by medical imaging since his early student years. This led to his first appointment at Louisiana State University Medical Center in 1998, and has kept him in the medical field ever since - as a developer, researcher, faculty member, business owner, and clinical project manager. These diverse endeavors have helped Dr. Pianykh to learn about DICOM imaging from many various and sometimes unexpected angles. His experiences range from the ground work in DICOM workgroups and committees to hands-on imaging projects in remote community hospitals. In August 2005, soon after being appointed Chief Information Officer for Louisiana Healthcare Network, Dr. Pianykh had to work on rebuilding the statewide PACS grid that was devastated by hurricane Katrina. A year later, he joined Harvard Medical School, where he serves as a clinical faculty member and researcher, teaches medical informatics, and heads DICOM imaging projects. Dr. Pianykh participates in many international projects, provides consultation to DICOM users and companies, and enjoys every single aspect of practical medical informatics.