What Functions to Look For in a Mammography Viewer

Last Updated on Friday, 15 January 2010 06:21 Written by admin Friday, 15 January 2010 06:21

If you manage a mammography imaging center, you understand that the bottom line is dependent on quick, accurate turnover of good quality digital images. One way to make sure that your center does not lose money is to invest in a mammography viewer that makes use of teleradiology.

Doing More With Less

Due to the nature of the profit-driven health care system in the U.S. and the incredible expenses and debt burden incurred by medical students, fewer and fewer doctors are going into less well-paying specialties such as radiology; while the demand for qualified radiologists is increasing by approximately 15% a year, the annual number of such specialists is growing by only 2% .

Teleradiology is simply the ability to send medical images to remote locations over the World Wide Web. Through teleradiology, a mammography imaging center can transfer such images to any other clinic in the world.

In addition, teleradiology capability will allow multiple viewers to study an image at the same time, facilitating consultation and faster, more accurate diagnoses.

Another benefit of teleradiology is that it enables the clinic to easily archive images in a remote location, making backup and disaster recovery much easier should the unthinkable happen.

Is It Customizable?

Another feature one should consider in a mammography viewer is the ability of the user(s) to customize its image retrieval functions. Every center has different needs and methods; when images can be searched and retrieved based on user-defined parameters, the result is a more efficient workflow and faster turnaround time.

User-Friendly?

It goes without saying that a mammography viewer that is easy to use will result in cost savings. A more complex system may run faster, but if it is necessary for staff to spend an inordinate amount of time dealing with a steep learning curve, it will cause cost more in the long run.

The Key Features of a PET-CT Viewer

Last Updated on Friday, 15 January 2010 05:15 Written by admin Thursday, 7 January 2010 05:01

As you may be aware, positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) combines both of these imaging modalities into one system, allowing the images from each to be taken sequentially.

Although PET-CT imaging has revolutionized diagnostic medicine, cost and logistics have proven to be problematic; not only is the combined system quite expensive, the radioactive drugs required for this type of imaging are also costly and have a short shelf-life. The DICOM format and teleradiology has mitigated these issues somewhat, making it possible to disseminate such images over an intranet as well as the World Wide Web.

Basic Features

Ideally, a PET-CT viewer allows for display of the fused image while allowing the user to control blending and create a three-dimensional reconstruction of the subject. Flexibility is also important. In addition to a full set of image editing and manipulation software tools and and various import/export options, the viewer should be compatible with legacy systems, including non-DICOM protocols and file formats. Some of the tools to look for include:

• angle
• line
• cine
• point location
• triangulation

User friendliness is another important factor to consider. Drag-and-drop function as well as set-up wizards can greatly cut down on the amount of time required to learn a new system.

Security

Because patient confidentiality is an important issue, the PET-CT viewer should have strong security features as well. In addition to password login and authentication, the system should include:

• web page timeout
• anonymizer feature
• privilege and query parameters
• SSL security (at least 128-bit)

This list of features is by no means exhaustive; because such a system represents a considerable investment, some due diligence is required. PET-CT viewers are manufactured by several different companies, and not all of them offer the same tools and features. It will be up to you to determine which PET-CT Viewers will best serve the needs of your particular health care operation.

The Impact of Internet Teleradiology on Healthcare

Last Updated on Friday, 15 January 2010 04:01 Written by admin Saturday, 2 January 2009 03:49

Although no reasonable person wants to put a price tag on human life, the fact is that cost is the major issue surrounding health care in the U.S. today. While most of this is due to the privatized, profit-driven nature of the U.S. system of health care, part of it is in fact a function of supply and demand, particularly as the number of patients requiring medical services increase and the more and more medical school graduates, burdened with half a million dollars in student loan debt choose high-paying specialties over primary care.

Teleradiology is made possible by today’s Internet technologies, and promises to reduce costs by making better use of resources.

What Is Teleradiology?

Simply defined, teleradiology is the transmission of medical images over the World Wide Web and Local Area Networks. This allows for consultation with qualified radiologists in remote locations, allowing them to provide services without having to be on-site with the patient. It is also vital for hospitals and clinics in smaller, under-served communities who need the services of rare specialists such as neuropathology, pediatric medicine and osteology during off-hours, making it an excellent tool for telemammography.

How It Works

In the early days, teleradiology was quite limited, depending on telephone lines for transmission. With the event of high-speed Internet service and fiber-optic cable, hundreds of large images can be sent virtually instantaneously. Image-compression software make this even more efficient, while new security technologies such as voice-recognition and 128-bit encryption insures that such images are delivered only to those medical professionals authorized to receive and view them.

VRN – The Next Generation

The Virtual Radiology Network facilitates teleradiology services by collecting digital imaging studies from all over the World Wide Web and delivering them to the appropriate specialists. This is of great help to radiologists in managing workflow, providing these professionals with a variety of Web and network-based management tools.