How PACS Work

A PACS consists of four major components: the imaging modalities such as CT (computerized tomography), ultrasound, and MRI (magnetic resonance imaging); a secure network to transmit patient information; workstations to interpret and review images; and archives to store and retrieve images and reports. The DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine) standard establishes a network communications protocol and defines the file format for transmission of medical images. The DICOM format and its many uses relative to PACS have revolutionized how all medical facilities create, use, and store medical images.

Collaboration and Cost Savings

PACS enable images acquired with any modality to be viewed by authorized personnel over a local area network, wide area network, virtual private network (VPN), and the Web. Healthcare professionals can consult with colleagues in real time. As they view digital medical images on a clinical workstation, providers can enhance the images using controls like pan, zoom, rotate, etc., and take precise measurements on screen. They can even print the images with a DICOM printer if they need a hard copy.

Increasingly, PACS technology is Web-based, allowing users to distribute images and data via the Internet. For security, the architecture of a Web-based PACS typically uses a VPN or Secure Sockets Layer. Advantages of Web-based PACS can include ease of use, lower cost, and maintenance savings vs. systems that require proprietary networks.

Focus on Interoperability

The DICOM standard facilitates interoperability, which is key to reducing healthcare costs, enables equipment at different sites to communicate, and aids diagnoses and treatment decisions. It makes it much easier to bring images from multiple PACS technologies together in a single user interface.

Along with DICOM, Vendor Neutral Archiving (VNA) strives to ensure interoperability among PACS solutions. VNA means that there are no limits on what a healthcare provider does with its electronically stored images and documents. It specifies that similar storage products and similar imaging applications of different manufacture should function with no noticeable differences.