Abstract

Introduction

Materials & Methods

Results

Discussion & Conclusion

References

Discussion
Board

In recent years, the field of radiology has been virtually transformed through the increased use of computers and the transmission of digital images over networks. Picture archive and communications systems (PACS) are now being implemented widely where, previously, they were considered impractical and exceedingly costly. Among the challenges faced in designing and implementing a PACS are how it should be integrated with existing computer systems; specifically, hospital and radiology information systems (HIS and RIS). The consensus has been to abide by established industry standards wherever possible. In radiology, the digital imaging and communications in medicine and health level seven standards are dominant. Despite their tremendous success, there remains the challenge of developing interfaces that allow access to the data beyond the standards-conformant equipment used to acquire the images and manage the patient information. Not surprisingly, developers have turned to the World-Wide-Web for solutions, and now commercial Web-based interfaces to PACS and HIS are becoming available. In this presentation, we will illustrate how we have employed such an approach in designing our own PACS and integrating it with our HIS. We will explain our rationale and discuss the various strengths and weaknesses of the resulting system.

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Presentation Number SAhenri0294
Keywords: WWW, radiology, PACS, integration, filmless