Established in 1993, DICONDE (Digital Imaging and Communication for Non-Destructive Evaluation) is an imaging and archiving technology standard that defines all image attributes and elements in a universal format. DICONDE was based on DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine), a proven imaging and archiving standard in the medical industry. In 2004, the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) E07.11 subcommittee made DICONDE the standard (E2339-11) for NDT (nondestructive testing) imaging.
With the transition to digital imaging in NDT underway, the industry and early adopters are looking at what other ways they can benefit from digital imaging once the basic archive is in place. Drawing from the medical imaging industry where digital imaging workflows are more mature, there are several applications that could be applied to digital NDT workflows that would greatly simplify the inspection and audit processes, eliminating potential rework, recalls, and associated costs. Key among them is records management.