MiniPACS tames volumetric data set explosion

Using a miniPACS has proved an effective method to archive CT volumetric data sets and to deliver them to radiologists.

Dr. Kyung Won Lee and colleagues from South Korea moved the volumetric data set from 16-slice CT scanners to a miniPACS with 271-GB online and 680-GB nearline storages. A thicker slice data set was stored in the main PACS.

They studied a two-week period to determine the impact of storage needs of each data set type: volumetric, thick axial, standardized 3D images routinely produced by technologists, 3D images added by radiologists, and scan planning. They also analyzed the storage need of each PACS over a five-month period.

For the 867 CT exams performed during the two-week period, the percentage data volumes of volumetric, thick axial, standardized 3D, additional 3D, and scan planning data sets decreased linearly: 74.4%, 15.9%, 7%, 2.3%, 0.5%, respectively.

Over the five-month period, 278 GB of CT data (8976 exams) were stored in the main PACS, and 738 GB of volumetric data sets (6193 exams) were stored in the miniPACS. The volumetric data sets formed 33% of total data for all modalities (2.2 TB) in the main PACS and miniPACS.

At the end of this period, volumetric data sets of 1892 and 5162 exams were kept online and nearline, respectively.