unit 2 picture archiving and communications (PACS)

informatics

devices and processes used for handling multiple types of information

platform

particular configuration of informatics devices & processes

biomedical informatics (BMI)

refers to platforms used for medical purposes

picture archiving and communication system (PACS)

system used to manage medical images

hospital information system (HIS)

used to manage all of a hospital's operations (Medical, administrative, financial, legal)

radiology information system (RIS)

database of images/patient records specific to imaging

electronic medical record (EMR) or electronic health record (EHR)

electronic versions of an individual patient's medical documents

DICOM stands for...

digital imaging and communications in medicine

DICOM

international software standard used for the exchange, storage, & communication of digital medical images

DICOM originated in the 1980's by the.....

american college of radiology acr & national electrical manufacturers association (NEMA)

two classes of information

object class & service class

object class

contains information about the study and patient

service class

describes what to do with the objects

T/F: The DICOM standard allows cross-vendor interoperability among devices & information systems dealing with digital medical images

true

T/F: although DICOM is an important system, it's not typically the standard in medical imaging

false

the PACS system facilitates....

quick/easy access to patient images & reports that can be shared electronically w/ other remote facilities

the PACS system provides....

tools for helping radiologists/other physicians view and analyze images

T/F: since PACS provides tools for helping radiologists/other physicians to view images, it improves accuracy of interpretation

true

the components of PACS include...

image acquisition

image distribution

image display

storage

the digital images produced by modalities include...

cr/dr

digital fluoroscopy

ct, mri, us, nm

once the images are in a digital format, a clinical workstation holds them for what purpose?

to review them (by the technologist) until they are sent to PACS for distribution (to radiologists/physicians)

film digitizer

device used to turn analog images (films) into digital images

the images are transmitted over a computer network, from _____ _____ to PACS server to viewing workstations or _____ _______

acquisition point, mobile devices

T/F: PACS has no need for a large deal of bandwidth

FALSE -- it needs a great deal of bandwidth capable of handling large data files

the size of the image file depends on....

matrix size and bit depth

most medical images are large, specifically...

megabytes

bandwidth controls....

the speed at which data can be sent over the network

how is bandwidth measured?

bits per second

local area network (LAN) connects all computers via _______ and is _______

ethernet, faster

wide-area network (WAN) is when data ______ the system and is sent _____ ____ (__________)

leaves, far away (teleradiology)

wide area network tends to be slower, especially if....

wireless

soft copy display

computer workstations/mobile devices used for viewing, processing, and interpreting images

the newest workstations typically have which kind of monitors, accompanied by which kind of backlights?

flat screen high-definition LCD (liquid crystal display) with LED (light emitting diode) backlights

mobile devices, such as tablets and phones, are increasingly being used for...

viewing

digital images can be printed on film (hard copy display) how?

with a laser printer

what is soft copy image quality on a monitor affected by?

resolution, luminance, contrast, viewing angle

resolution

number of pixels in the horizontal and vertical dimensions

increased number of pixels equals a ....

larger matrix with smaller pixels and higher resolution

luminance

monitor brightness measured in SI units

which SI units is luminance measured in?

candela per square meter (cd/m^2)

monitors degrade over time--what is done to confirm uniformity?

QC testing with photometer

contrast

dynamic range that the monitor can display

contrast is affected by the....

ambient light and glare

T/F: bright lights have a positive effect on contrast

false

most images are viewed in rooms with lights dimmed due to....

bright lights having a negative effect on contrast

viewing angle

angle of observer's eyes to monitor

T/F: LCD monitors have varying fields of view

false -- they have restricted FOV

the viewing angle deteriorates as the...

viewer moves away from the center of the screen

medical image storage requires immense amounts of...

memory

short term storage

images stored on a local modality hard drive

besides a hard drive for short-term storage, images can also be stored on a....

redundant array of independent discs (RAID)

long term storage

images stored off-site; discs, tapes, servers