Advanced multimedia applications require adequate support for the modeling of multimedia content but also an adequate database technology supporting the integrated management, retrieval, delivery, and even the presentation of multimedia content. In our Cardio-OP project within the application domain of cardiac surgery we are developing concepts and prototypical implementations of a database system-driven multimedia repository that gives this comprehensive support. In the project context we have been developing the ZYX data model that meets the specific requirements of reusability, interaction, adaptation, and presentation-neutral description of the structure and content of multimedia documents. For the multimedia repository, hence, we need to select database system technology for the implementation of the ZYX model for multimedia documents and - with regard to our future work - for the retrieval, browsing, delivery and presentation of the multimedia documents. In this paper, we present our approach to implement the ZYX data model for multimedia documents and presentations using object-relational database technology. Hereby, we exploit the features and experience the limitations of object-relational database system technology in comprehensively supporting multimedia applications.

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