Picture Archiving and Communications System - Lab Report Example

1 LAB WORK Q What is the architecture used in this PACS Please justify your responses. What are its pros and cons PACS or Picture Archiving and Communications System is a computer network system which is designed to transfer, store as well as to retrieve digital medical images that can be viewed at the right place, and also at the right time. This software can integrate data from one system to another system, whether inside or outside healthcare departments. As to the system architecture, it is typically an integration of a number of imaging (like CT, MRI) modalities which are PACS archive connected and connect also to a number of reporting as well as review workstations (over 200 on-site). In this manner, web clients may view reports and images (Bhachu, 2005). In addition, The PACS system is equipped with a central core consisting of a 300-gigabyte central server; a set of 1.25-terabyte optical jukebox archive together with adjustable wavelet compression or PacsPro II that is an EMED Technologies, Lexington, MA; some workstations which are four-panel 2.5 2.0K monitors (average rate image display time is less than 2 sec/full-resolution computed radiography image. The Images in PACS system are routed to individual workstations based on the algorithm that applies a synthesis of patient location, image source, day of week, time of day, imaging type, and Common Procedure Terminology (CPT) code (Gale, Gale, Schwartz, Muse and Walker, 2000). 2 Pilling (2003) conducted research on the views of Consumers about PACS and the results are outlined below: Advantages of PACS 1. No lost images and these are sent to remote sites prior to period that they are needed to compensate for the low-bandwidth delays together with "push" distribution. 2. No film packets to file, handle, transport. 3. Reduction in repeat radiographs. 4. Reduced radiation dose together with computed radiography and also direct radiography. 5. Images available in various places simultaneously. 6. Improved radiographer efficiency. 7. Faster reporting by radiologists. 8. Instant image availability. It deliver patient information if necessary; with configurable rules-based routing. 9. Previous image availability as well as comparison. 10. Improved medical staff efficiency because time not spent looking for films. 11. Reports available with images. 12. Image manipulation. Disadvantages of PACS 1. Inaccessibility of old images. 2. Differences in new PACS images with old film images. 3. Some technical problems. 4. Some delays in the computer operation (digitization programme was slow). 3 Q.2. What is Oracle What is / are its role(s) in this PACS Oracle is a new networking infrastructures and applications that provides highly available integrated and high level of performance software components that meets the demands of most industries. The Oracle empowers applications with very high throughput and instant responsiveness and performance-critical functions faster. The combination of programs are delivered on the data management requirements important to realize service agility like: Superior combination of batch performance and real-time for data located in call control as well as back office applications; Intelligent caching; Providing support geographically for "fail over" and load balancing; full adherence to standard interfaces; Easy manageability and low maintenance requirements; and non-stop operations capable of achieving carrier-grade availability (Oracle Corporation, 2007). All PACS products (The Royal College of Radiologists, 2002) consist of database that can store information of patients, at the same time, cataloguing their imaging studies. Several PACS installations integrate and use a single relational Oracle databases to data storage. The user then, interacts instantly with the Oracle databases to look for the imaging studies of current interest. Thus the Oracle database performances is crucial to the performance of the entire PACS. Well designed databases provide rapid responses to the queries of the clients. 4 Q.3. What is RIS brokerless interface software What is / are its role(s) in this PACS The RIS is a brokerless, extremely configurable HL-7 interface that integrates System 5 with HIS/RIS to supply efficient patient information access and reports all throughout the hospital or any health care institute and beyond. Through IS Link, the HIS/RIS transactions automatically modify and upgrade patient data, reports, schedules, and study status for supreme convenience. Synchronization system between the HIS/RIS and System 5 efficiently provides access to the general current patient images as well as information as administration ensures data integrity and safety. RIS is also one system responsible for the maintenance of patient scheduling, demographics, financial information and interpretations of laboratory/examination results. Many RIS's may have been developed as well as applied independently of PACS chiefly based on Health Level 7 or HL7, one standard communication language intended for the development medical information from the HIMSS or Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society. To avoid data redundancy and, consequentially, data inconsistencies, most PACS rely on the RIS as the primary source of patient information (Samei, 2004). 5 Q.4. What scale of hospital is the system most suitable for Please justify your responses. What benefits can it bring to this clinical environment Is it worthwhile to have a PACS in this situation and why According to the general manager of F Advance Med medical equipment and supplier, the PACS system requires large as well as stable storage, devise because just imagine one plain -ray film which has a digital size of about 8 megabytes; while one CT-scan case can contain up to around 3,000 images. So, to provide the PACS system, EMC [storage together with the services and also the use of Fuji Wavelet Compression software, all images can be compress up to 20 times without compromising the quality of original images. The said digital system is suitable for hospitals that has their own information system; with a minimum of around 50,000 image-cases per year. The hospital can be small to medium sized (Pornwasin, 2009). Q.5. Does the proposal provide adequate information for you to make decision If yes, please explain why If not, what further information do you need to know and why Obviously, PACS speeds the minimizes the expenses, increases efficiency of data management and implementation as well as risks incurred across the 6 application and overcomes the chronic shortfall of qualified technical personnel hired in-house. Some other significant benefits include: low risks of data loss, faster implementation, more accurate results, preservation of essential data, lower capital investment, and protection from software and hardware. Therefore, adoption of the PACS in hospitals is strongly proposed. REFERENCES Bhachu, D. (2005) Medical and Hospital Management. Retreived September 21, 2009 from http://www.hospitalmanagement.net/features/feature681/feature681-1.html Bhachu, D. (2005) The Medical Digital Imaging Revolution. Department of Health's National Evaluation Centre for PACS. Retreived September 21, 2009 from http://www.hospitalmanagement.net/features/feature681/ Gale, D.R., Gale, E.M., Schwartz, R.K., Muse, V.V. and Walker, R.E. (2000) An automated pacs workstation interface: A timesaving enhancement. American Journal of Roentgen Ray Society, 2000;174:33-36. Oracle Corporation (2007) Oracle Carrier Grade Framework Application-Ready Foundation for Next-Generation Telecom Solutions with NetApp Flexible Storage Platform. An Oracle White Paper. Retrieved September 25, 2009 from http://www.oracle.com/industries/communications/oracle-carrier-grade-framework-whitepaper.pdf 7 Pilling, J.R. (2003) Picture archiving and communication systems: the users' view. The British Journal of Radiology, 76, 519-524. Pornwasin, A. (2009) Digital technology lifts Thai hospital services. The Nation. Retrieved September 25, 2009 from http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home/2009/07/14/technology/Digital-technology-lifts-Thai-hospital-services-30107363.html The Royal College of Radiologists (2002) Clinical Radiology and Electronic Records http://www.rcr.ac.uk/docs/radiology/other/Clinical%20Radiology%20and%20Elecronic%20Records.html Read More