Yaron Rado MD, Presenter: Nothing to Disclose

Ben Fritz MD, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

Dirk Blondin MD, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

Anne Clemens MD, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

Ulrich Moedder MD, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

Jens Albrecht Koch MD, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

Y.R.: Yaron Rado is CEO of PAXIMUM GmbH

3 years ago we decided to build a mini PACS for the department of radiology in the university clinic of Duesseldorf. What started as a "scientific PACS" then is a full grown PACS system today with all modalities of the department connected to it(2 CT scanner, 2 MR Scanner, 2 DSA workplaces and 2 digital fluoroscopy workplaces), even bringing the images to the referring physicians on the ward. We use the free available conquest DICOM server (http://www.xs4all.nl/~ingenium/dicom.html) with Microsoft's SQL server as database. Because we emphasized on IHE conformity with our HIS and RIS vendors all the way, we achieved a deeply integrated workflow although using public domain PACS software. The main PACS holds 1,5 Terabyte of data online on an IDE RAID system and connects with gigabit to the hospital's network.Because the PACS software itself is budget neutral, the referring physicians have their own server. By filtering mechanisms of the public domain software, examinations are automatically forwarded to the departmental PACS. This adds a lot of redundancy to the databases as well as freedom for the clinical departments. Full access is given to the clinicians who are able to to add examinations brought by patients on CD-ROM or captured by a VIDAR X-ray scanner. This multi PACS environment also keeps the bandwidth needed within the departments despite sending full fidelity DICOM images to the ward.Also, the cascading PACS model offers new solutions to reliability and redundancy issues in PACS.

1. How to use public domain software in building a full grown PACS able to live up to a university hospital's demands.2. Using the freely available conquest DICOM server software we achieved a stable DICOM platform that serves our clinic for 3 years now.This platform can also be used as a backup or mini PACS solution

Rado, Y, Fritz, B, Blondin, D, Clemens, A, Moedder, U, Koch, J, Three Years of a Public Domain PACS and Its Spread into Clinicians Routine: A University Clinics' Case Report.  Radiological Society of North America 2004 Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting, November 28 - December 3, 2004 ,Chicago IL. http://archive.rsna.org/2004/4409645.html