What technological transition made sharing ultrasound images across networks practical?

Digitization of data

The ability to send, store, and retrieve ultrasound images across modern digital networks—which defines connected ultrasound—was entirely dependent on the shift away from analog recording methods. For many decades, ultrasound images were captured using physical media like film or paper strip recorders, making remote sharing cumbersome, requiring physical transport. The critical prerequisite for digital networking was the gradual migration, beginning in the late 1970s, where ultrasound systems started producing data in digital file formats. Once the image became digital data, it could be processed, standardized (e.g., via DICOM), and transferred instantaneously over network infrastructure like a LAN.