MPEG-7 as a metadata standard for indexing of surgery videos in medical e-learning

Abstract

The analysis of video recorded surgical procedures is considered to be a useful extension of the medical curriculum. We can foster the development of video-based e-learning courses by working out a unified description method which would facilitate the exchange of these materials between different platforms. Sophisticated metadata enables a broader integration of artificial intelligence techniques into e-learning. The aim of this paper is to present the possibility of combining the MPEG-7 metadata standard with the MeSH classification for indexing of video recordings in medical e-learning. A tool for metadata descriptions of surgical videos in accordance with the MPEG-7 standard is also presented. This tool is part of a larger architecture for the exchange of medical multimedia objects. © 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.