Presented at the 2000 APIII Conference Return to 2000 Abstract Index
PACS AS A CORE IMAGE ARCHIVE FOR THE HOSPITAL
Children's Hospital
Department of Pathology
Columbus, Ohio
Mark Luquette, MD
PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System) is the
current standard in digital radiology for image capture,
storage and viewing. At Children's Hospital, Inc., the PACS
uses a MOD jukebox as part of its storage medium. Its capacity
is 2.6 terabytes. The system is also configured with a web
server to allow password access to view images with a web
browser. With a generous storage capacity and web access
in place, the PACS is a natural place to create a core image
archive.
Images
are generated throughout the hospital and are saved in a
variety of formats and media, most of which require a unique
interface or workstation to access; thus, the physician
must interact with a number of third parties to access the
text and images of a patient's data. Many of these disparate
systems; however, have the capability to store images in
a generic file format. In an alpha collaboration with the
manufacturer of our PACS, a system has been configured to
allow access to the PACS via workstations that will allow
the storage of non-radiology digital images in the PACS.
If successful, this system will establish a gateway into
the PACS for non-radiology images and set the stage for
a hospital core image archive.
