mimps - medical imaging storage - informatics

what does mimps stand for

medical image management and processing system

what does pacs stand for

picture archiving and communication system

what act changed pacs to mimp

the cures act

why did the fda change pacs to mimps

to exclude certain software functions in the definition of a device

what is a pixel

a basic picture element on a display

bigger pixels=

low resolution

smaller pixels =

high resolution

the more pixels included on an image =

high resolution

the less pixels on an image =

low resolution

what happens when you increase window level

makes the image darker

what happens when you decrease window level

make the image brighter

when happens when you have a wide window width

more shades of gray (decrease contrast)

what happens when you have a narrow window width

less shades of gray (increase contrast)

what is shuttering

used to blacken out the white collimation borders in a digital image, effectively eliminating veil glare (AKA display masking)

what is masking

suppressing frequencies

what is DI

helps determine whether or not an image has been underexposed or overexposed

what is a hanging protocol

how a set of images will be displayed on the monitor

what does MPR stand for?

multiplanar reconstruction

what is multiplanar reconstruction (MPR)

one of the most commonly used 3D rendering techniques

what does MIP stand for?

maximum intensity projection

what is maximum intensity projection (MIP)

used to visualize vessels

what does minIP stand for

minimum intensity projection

what is minimum intensity projection (minIP)

used to visualize airfilled structures

what does VRT stand for?

volume rendering technique

what is volume rendering technique

similar to MIP but allows the user to assign colors based on the intensity of the tissues so that bone, contrast agent, and organs can be seen in different colors

what does SSD stand for?

shaded surface display

what is shaded surface display (SSD)

using a threshold of pixel intensity values, everything below the threshold will be removed and everything above will be assigned a color and shown as a 3D object

what is stitching

used when multiple images need to be put together into one image

what are the 2 categories of archiving components

image manager or controller

image storage or archive server

what is the image manager or controller

this is the pacs component that interfaces with the RIS and HIS of an organization and it also contains the DICOM header information

what does the image manager or controller contain

the master database

what does the image manager or controller control

the receipt, retrieval, and distribution of images

what is the image storage or archive server

the actual, physical storage device of the system

what does RAID stand for

redundant array of independent disk

which RAID is found in PACS

RAID 5

what happens to data in RAID 0

data are “striped” across all of the connected disks

striping means that the data is broken up into pieces and each disk will have one piece of data

what happens to data in RAID 1

all the data sent to the RAID are mirrored onto 2 disks

mirrored means that the data is duplicated and placed into 2 separate disks so it has full redundancy (if one disk goes down, the other will take over)

what happens to data in RAID 3

the data are striped across all of the disks just like RAID 0 but there is one disk that is set aside for error correction

this is barley used

what happens to data in RAID 5

similar to RAID 3 but instead of having the parity written in one disk, it is striped along all the disks

what does striping of the data do

increases the reliability and performance of the system

what does DAS stand for

direct attached storage

what is the direct attached storage (DAS)

• attached to system just like short term RAID

• directly connected via cable connections

• managed by the same RAID controller

what does NAS stand for

network attached storage

what is the network attached storage (NAS)

• servers are stand-alone RAID arrays

• attached directly to network

• multiple NAS servers can be attached to 1 network to provide fault tolerance and load can be balanced throughout servers

what does SAN stand for

storage area network

what is the storage area network (SAN)

• high speed, special purpose network

• links different kinds of storage devices with data servers

• RAID levels can be utilized when used in conjunction with SAN

what is interoperability

the transmission of information —> must be consistent

what does HIPAA stand for

the health insurance portability and accountability act of 1996

what is HIPAA

a legislation providing data privacy and security for medical information (accountability)

also ensures individuals are able to maintain health insurance between jobs (portability)

what does HITECH stand for

health information technology for economic and clinical health act

what is HITECH

this is to promote the adoption and meaningful use of health information technology

also address privacy and security concerns associated with the electronic transmission of health information

what does EHR stand for

electronic health records

what is the EHR

a compilation of health-record information concerning the individual that can be created, managed, and consulted by authorized clinicians and staff across more than one healthcare organization

what limitations does EHR remove

removes limitations of handwritten record

what does EHR improve

readability

efficiency

productivity

quality of care

patient safety