Kala McCune

Notebook 12

PACS- networked group of computers, servers, and archives that can be used to manage digital

images. PACS can accept any image that is in digital imaging and communications in medicine

format.

PACS capabilities:

Gather images
Organize images
Post processing if needed
Display images
Processed image storage
Back up storage
Retrieval of stored images

A PACS allows digital images to be sent from their acquisition point to a radiologist or other

clinician to be diagnosed and then stored for retrieval.

RIS- Holds all radiology-specific patient data, from the patient scheduling information to the

radiologists dictated and transcribed report.

HIS- Holds the patients full medical information, from hospital billing to the inpatient ordering

system.

DICOM- Handles, stores, prints, and transmits information in medical imaging.

Hard copy refers to the images that are visualized on film whereas soft copy images are

visualized on the monitor.

Storing images:

Most institutes store there images for 5-7 years

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 Requires immense amount of memory

Image process:

The image is acquired, usually in a digital format onto the computer and then it goes

straight to PACS.
After the image has been sent to PACS it can be seen by any medical display workstation.

All of the different modalities can send images through to PACS, and can be brought up

by anyone at a display workstation. From PACS, the viewer can manipulate images

before being viewed by the radiologist.

Now the radiologist can pull up the images from the reading room as well as historic

images for comparison. From there the radiologist writes the report and signs it making it

final.
The images go into a short term memory and then eventually into a long term memory

where they can still be brought back up on a display workstation.

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