Error Correction for DNA-Based Image Storage

DNA has been proposed as an alternative support for data storage due to its lower energy consumption and longer lifespan when compared to conventional techniques. DNA-based storage faces several challenges, particularly in managing errors that arise during synthesis and sequencing. The JPEG Committee has been working towards a DNA-based image coding standard and has proposed an initial prototype without including error-correction mechanisms. Inserted in the context of the JPEG DNA standardization, this paper presents two joint error-correcting pipelines for DNA-based image storage combining cyclic redundancy checks, Reed-Solomon codes, convolutional codes, and Raptor codes. The proposed pipelines are evaluated across various channel models and benchmarked against state-of-the-art, demonstrating enhanced coding performance, reduced complexity, and improved flexibility. The efficacy of the proposed systems has resulted in their inclusion in the JPEG DNA verification model. The results presented in this paper can serve as a reference to benchmark against future ideas on joint source-channel coding of images in DNA.