Dr. Jonathan Elion is a cardiologist, computer scientist, and cofounder and chief medical officer of Heartlab, a company that develops systems for the digital management of cardiology reports and data sets. The former director of the cardiac image processing laboratory at the University of Kentucky, he has been involved in cardiac image processing since 1983.

As cardiac systems develop into full-blown information management and digital imaging networks, hospitals face the decision of whether and how to integrate cardiac PACS with the enterprise/radiology PACS.

Radiology groups in growing numbers are entering into imaging joint ventures with hospitals. These are beneficial to both parties for many reasons, but all such joint ventures must address important strategic decisions. One is the choice of what Medicare enrollment status the joint venture will operate under. This choice is generally enrollment as an independent diagnostic testing facility (IDTF) versus radiology group practice. The latter is the better choice, in my view, but the requirements for onsite service by the radiologists can make qualifying for non-IDTF status difficult.

The steady rise in imaging data produced in radiology departments shows no sign of slowing, thanks to advances in scanner hardware and increasing patient throughput. Thinking ahead for expected growth has become more important than ever when planning a PACS implementation.

Our PACS project at the University Hospitals Leuven in Belgium radically follows from an overall IT perspective. The emphasis on image flow throughout the entire hospital supersedes operations within the image-generating departments. Image management outside the radiology department is not an afterthought, but rather an integral part in, and even a driving factor for, decisions that the department makes. Although images have specific characteristics and requirements, we often consider them yet another type of data or a collection of bytes.

As digital management of medical information has extended through the enterprise, so has the need to rethink fundamental approaches to managing this information. The focus is shifting from individual clinical systems such as PACS to what is best termed a healthcare enterprise information system, which encompasses all individual department information systems.

My favorite end-of-day refuge after walking miles in McCormick Place is a minimalist Asian fusion restaurant with delicious food and low prices. I read the RSNA Bulletin. I eat. I depart.

The challenges that PACS addresses are not limited to radiology. Other image-producing areas that have been slower to adopt PACS technology, such as mammography and cardiology, can benefit from the same improvements seen in the radiology department through the implementation of PACS for image storage and transmission.

Integration, interoperability, interconnectedness: "In" is in for PACS and informatics. The RSNA meeting promises to reveal a new world of integrated healthcare systems, PACS, and radiology information systems, all aiming to provide a single solution for data and imaging information management.

As healthcare facilities show interest in taking advantage of the benefits of integrated image and information management systems, vendors are gearing up to match the expected demand.

The growth of cardiac imaging may represent multislice CT’s greatest impact on diagnostic imaging. Hospital information technology infrastructures are feeling the burden.

As cardiac systems develop into full-blown information management and digital imaging networks, hospitals face the decision of whether and how to integrate cardiac PACS with the enterprise/radiology PACS.

PACS administration is an integral part of a well-run soft-copy department. The newly developed role of PACS administrator continues to evolve at a fast clip along with PACS technology. Determining what falls within its purview can be tricky.

Aviation headphones adapted for use in the MR suite can cut the decibel level in half, according to a poster presented at the 2004 RSNA meeting.

The wider use of 3T MR scanners, combined with the increasing number of patients with implants, is prompting concern among regulators in the U.K. They question the compatibility of new-generation scanners and medical implants.

The medical imaging community may soon have access to a new archiving technology. StorageTek has developed the Lifecycle Fixed Content Manager 100, a scalable archive designed specifically for handling data that cannot or should not be altered.

The HD11 ultrasound system launched worldwide in mid-February by Philips Medical Systems offers a state-of-the-art alternative for budget-strapped healthcare facilities. The company is targeting customers who have been holding off on the purchase of sonography systems for five to seven years or settling for remanufactured platforms from third-party dealers.

Security agent appears at HIMSSEastman Kodak announced Feb. 14 at the Dallas meeting of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society its decision to bundle security software from Cisco with its medical imaging and information management systems. Integration of the Cisco Security Agent will be an option on computed radiography and digital radiography products, as well as the company’s RIS/PACS suite. These bundled systems will be available in April. Kodak’s Health Group also debuted new features for its Secure Email Service, demonstrated information management capabilities, and showed its enhanced radiology suite at the HIMSS meeting.

GE Healthcare and Intermountain Health Care (IHC) are collaborating on the development of best-practices software for integration into GE’s Centricity IT system. The clinical software will include IHC’s clinical decision-making processes, as well as current and emerging open healthcare standards.

Nearly a decade has passed since Canon Medical Systems installed its first digital radiography system. Since then, the company has installed about 1700 flat-panel detectors around the world, nearly a third of them in the U.S.