Practical mini-PACS based on a hybrid video and digital network.
The Department of Radiology of the Shinshu University Hospital is presently in the process of developing a new type of mini-PACS with a hybrid architecture consisting of a video and a digital image archiving network. The video block consists of a server station with a video write-once optical disk (LD) and three workstations which are connected to two ultrasound imaging devices and an MRI device. The video images from any of these imaging devices are transferred immediately onto an LD. The examiner can observe the archived images immediately without any interruption of the examination. The image transmission time, including the record and play-back, is within 3 s. The digital block consists of a personal computer server and various workstations linked to the ETHERNET. This digital system supports database management, and archives digital images. This prototype system was used for daily clinical examinations from February 1989 to January 1990 and 31,366 images from 1561 patients were stored on the video disk. This one year experience suggests that a hybrid mini-PACS system is practical for total image archiving when the image matrix is less than 512 x 512 and selected digital image archiving.
Telephone transmission of radiographic images.
A new system for telecommunication of radiographic images using readily available telephone transmission circuitry is described. The resulting video images were satisfactory for accurate interpretation in 80% of the cases tested. The system is moderately priced and has facilitated maintenance of radiodiagnostic interpretive services at a satellite office form the central hospital location.
Digital Radiology At The University Of California, Los Angeles: A Feasibility Study
This paper describes a set of feasibility studies on converting the Department of Radiological Sciences, UCLA from a film based operation to a digital based operation. The studies address the following topics: the departmental facility, the operating procedure and cost, a cost effective analysis and a proposed digital based operating system. In addition, we examine three prototype projects being carried out in our department. These include: a digital archiving and communication system, a hybrid archiving and communication system, and a multiple image viewing system.