Modality upgrades may overwhelm PACS storage capabilities

Imaging volume runs amok, with growing CT use in the lead

By: John C. Hayes

Growth in imaging volume is often attributed to growth in patient volume. But the new capabilities that result from upgrades to imaging modalities, especially CT, can be an even greater factor, according to researchers at the University Medical Center Groningen in the Netherlands.

The researchers tracked the impact of modality upgrades on archive demands beginning in 2000. By the end of 2004, the amount of imaging data stored in the archive had increased from 1.2 to 5.4 terabytes, said Peter M.A. van Ooijen, Ph.D, of the Groningen radiology department.

The number of patient exams entered into the RIS grew from 140,000 to 155,000 between during the same period.

Because the growth seems to be tracking linearly, the medical center anticipates that it will need more than 10 Tb of storage capacity in 2008. As the charts show, CT has been far and away the leader in generating additional imaging volume.

The growth was not anticipated, and the hospital's PACS vendor had downplayed the prospect, according to van Ooijen.

It seems that when radiologists discover what they can do with the new scanners, they begin to order larger studies. One study from the emergency room totaled 10,000 images.

Source: Department of radiology, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands