Medical Image Compression Part 2 - Deflate

In the previous article, we explored entropy encoders and how they work. We learned that there are just a few entropy encoding algorithms and data transformations are the main difference between different compression algorithms. This post will explore the deflate compression algorithm which utilizes an entropy encoder as well as two data transformations – run length encoding (RLE) and pattern matching. Deflate is perhaps the most popular compression algorithm in the world and is used by ZIP, gzip and even inside of the PNG image compression algorithm. RLE and pattern matching are foundational data transformations and are often used in other compression algorithms.