Impact of cross-enterprise data sharing on portable media with decentralised upload of DICOM data into PACS

K Y E Aryanto,Peter M A Van Ooijen,R Van De Wetering,A Broekema,M Oudkerk

doi:10.1007/s13244-013-0296-y

Abstract

ObjectivesTo evaluate portable media utilisation for image data sharing between enterprises. To predict the costs required to keep up with the trend. To identify related problems.MethodsA software package was developed to include patient image data from CD into our normal workflow. The trend in the workload of CDs that were uploaded into a Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) over 89 months was analysed. The average number of images per month (and per investigation) was calculated to provide the estimation of storage and cost required in the whole process.ResultsAll Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) files can be read from compact disc (CD) on any workstation in the hospital, processed quickly to the central server and checked after storage using the software tool. A total of 33,982,404 images from 88,952 CDs have been stored into the PACS system. In recent years, the stored images have reached an average of 4.2 terabytes (TB) uncompressed annually.ConclusionIntegrated information about patients is clearly needed to provide easy and timely access to these data. The steadily growing storage can be solved by a more automated approach to portable media handling or the installation and acceptance of network-based transfer using cross-enterprise document sharing (XDS).Key points• Rapid assimilation of external imaging into a PACS system is essential.• But data distribution using portable media also carries some disadvantages.• A DICOM data uploader incorporates studies from portable media to hospital workflow.• Automated media handling or XDS should solve the steadily growing storage problem.• Software improvements will facilitate the steady increase in the amount of CDs processed.

Highlights

The need for sharing data and the introduction of digital imaging in radiology have prompted the use of portable mediaInsights Imaging (2014) 5:157–164(e.g. recordable compact disc [CD] and digital versatile disc [DVD]) to distribute patient data
In this study we describe the current procedures and software tools used and evaluate the status of the number of CDs and images uploaded using this procedure for over 7 years
A total of 33,982,404 images from 88,952 CDs have been stored into the Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) of our hospital over the 89-month period

Summary

Introduction

The need for sharing data and the introduction of digital imaging in radiology have prompted the use of portable mediaInsights Imaging (2014) 5:157–164(e.g. recordable compact disc [CD] and digital versatile disc [DVD]) to distribute patient data. Distribution of patient data using recordable CDs is beneficial in terms of cost and shipping when compared with the previous situation using physical hard copy film [6, 7]. It prevents loss of studies compared with the film-based distribution and provides the patients with the possibility of a selfmaintained archive of their own imaging records which is claimed to improve patient care [7]. The actual viewing of images becomes one of the main problems, since each vendor provides its own viewer on the CD. Different policies and workarounds of handling data in each hospital, such as a hospital-specific identification (ID), disrupts the interchange of imaging data [9]

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