| A Picture Archiving and Communications System | | | | solutions to get around the bandwidth problem. |
| (PACS) is integral to the smooth, timely, and | | | | They've compressed images, supported standard |
| quality delivery of health care in every medical | | | | network interfaces and protocols such as |
| setting today. Not only are they integral but they | | | | Ethernet and TCP/IP, and deployed local area |
| are crucial to the clinical and business aspects of | | | | networks (LANs) with high bandwidths to link |
| radiology practice as we know it. However, PACS | | | | hospitals or referring physicians in a contained |
| have long faced challenges in delivering this digital | | | | environment. But how do they handle bandwidth |
| imaging support to such diagnostic modalities as | | | | when institutions are separated by tens or |
| X-ray, ultrasound, computed tomography (CT), | | | | hundreds of miles, especially since images have |
| magnetic resonance imaging [MRI], Positron | | | | become larger and more complicated? |
| Emission Tomography (PET), and Teleradiology. | | | | Some PACS vendors rely on the communications |
| The main issue has always been the availability of | | | | infrastructure in an area, which varies with the |
| sufficient bandwidth (load and speed).....at a | | | | bandwidth that is available from the local |
| reasonable cost.....to support the growing demand | | | | telephone company and the price a hospital is |
| for quick easy web-based access by medical | | | | willing to pay, said Frederick Wagner, manager of |
| providers. As Medical Imagery becomes more and | | | | PACS for Toshiba. Other PACS providers offer |
| more digitalized....with bandwidth improvements, | | | | streaming technology that transports high-quality |
| communication will be faster and easier, and it will | | | | images in real time over any bandwidth, including |
| be possible to transmit heavier studies in less time | | | | telephone lines and enterprise-wide LANs. |
| and with high quality. | | | | Another contributing solution is a technology called |
| An internal (facility owned) PACS leverages a | | | | Pixels-on-Demand by Real Time Media. This |
| common infrastructure for all the digital imaging | | | | technology speeds processing by capturing images |
| modalities and provides image storage and | | | | from archives or PACS storage without waiting |
| archiving....with recall as needed....for an entire | | | | for preprocessing, immediately streams data from |
| medical facility or campus. By instituting a web | | | | selected regions of interest, and delivers the most |
| enabled distribution system a facility PACS is able | | | | visually important features of an image to the |
| to provide ready image access to the immediate | | | | viewer first. |
| radiology department as well as the full range of | | | | The underlying solution to the bandwidth issue |
| clinicians and specialists, especially surgeons and | | | | goes beyond even system technologies, network |
| referring physicians. To ensure functionality at the | | | | interfaces, image compression, and infrastructure |
| high level required means facing the heavy | | | | protocols. It lies with the provision of the |
| bandwidth appetite of the modalities supported. | | | | appropriate bandwidth capacity (circuits)....at a |
| Even an Application Service Provider (ASP) | | | | reasonable cost....via leveraging the fiber-optic |
| company that hosts applications, manages them | | | | infrastructure available throughout the United |
| and rents access to images from a centrally | | | | States. Enabling direct fiber-optic connectivity |
| managed facility is not immune to the bandwidth | | | | internally, or between hospitals and distant data |
| concern. ASP providers allow an institution to | | | | centers, is the most cost-effective application of |
| outsource information technology applications | | | | bandwidth. Use of Optical Carrier (Sonet Ring) |
| infrastructure, management, support and | | | | bandwidth (likely OC3 or OC48) or Gigabit |
| maintenance. As defined by the ASP Industry | | | | Ethernet allows a medical facility to optimize it's |
| Consortium, ASP service is designed to "deliver | | | | Local Area Network (LAN). While ASP |
| and manage applications and computer services | | | | organizations can scale their application service |
| from remote data centres to multiple users via | | | | provider (ASP) service to small imaging centers as |
| the Internet or a private network." therein lies | | | | well as large, far-flung health systems. |
| they're challenge....a high bandwidth requirement | | | | To find a fiber optic infrastructure provider which |
| delivered over often a subtantial difference on an | | | | can deliver the right bandwidth solution for your |
| on-demand basis. | | | | medical imaging application..... |
| PACS manufacturers have developed numerous | | | | |