A Prototype Multi-Modality Picture Archive And Communication System At Victoria General Hospital

Abstract

The Medical Imaging Department at Victoria General Hospital is the first in Canada to implement an integrated multi-modality picture archive and communication system for clinical use. The aim of this paper is to present the current status of the picture archive and communication system components and to describe its function. This system was installed in April of 1987, and upgraded in November of 1987. A picture archive and communication system includes image sources, an image management system, and image display and reporting facilities. The installed image sources (digital radiography, digital fluoroscopy, computed tomography, and digital subtraction angiography) provide digital data for the image management system. The image management system provides facilities for receiving, storing, retrieving, and transmitting images using conventional computers and networks. There are two display stations, a viewing console and an image processing workstation, which provide various image display and manipulation functions. In parallel with the implementation of the picture archive and communication system there are clinical, physical, and economic evaluations being pursued. An initial examination of digital image transfer rates indicate that users will experience similar image availability times as with conventional film imaging. Clinical experience to date with the picture archive and communication system has been limited to that required to evaluate digital imaging as a diagnostic tool, using digital radiography and digital fluoroscopy studies. Computed tomography and digital subtraction angiography have only recently been connected to the picture archive and communication system. Clinical experience with these modalities is limited to several cases, but image fidelity appears to be well above clinically acceptable levels.