  A new technique for embedding data into an image coupled with compression has
been proposed in this paper. A fast and efficient coding algorithms are needed
for effective storage and transmission, due to the popularity of telemedicine
and the use of digital medical images. Medical images are produced and
transferred between hospitals for review by physicians who are geographically
apart. Such image data need to be stored for future reference of patients as
well. This necessitates compact storage of medical images before being
transmitted over Internet. Moreover, as the patient information is also
embedded within the medical images, it is very important to maintain the
confidentiality of patient data. Hence, this article aims at hiding patient
information as well, within the medical image followed by joint compression.
The hidden data and the host image are absolutely recoverable from the embedded
image without any loss.
