Dear AuntMinnie Member,
For imaging facilities that use PACS, data compression offers many advantages. It speeds up image transmission and reduces archiving costs, making digital image management more user-friendly and affordable.
But the devil is in the details. Lossy compression algorithms offer the ability to squeeze more data into smaller packages than lossless techniques, but the downside is that some data is irretrievably lost. Debate also rages over the most appropriate compression ratios that should be used for radiology data.
The complexity of the issue has vexed U.S. radiologists, but their counterparts north of the border are moving to clear things up by establishing a national standard governing data compression. Contributing writer Cynthia Keen describes their efforts in an article that we're featuring this week in our PACS Digital Community.
Spearheaded by the Canadian Association of Radiologists, the project plans to distribute to radiologists images from various body parts and modalities, with different compression formats applied. The association will use the feedback to determine what type of compression ratios to recommend -- which could lead to a national standard in Canada or even in other countries.
Read more about their efforts by clicking here, or visit the PACS Digital Community at pacs.auntminnie.com.
While you're there, you can also look at recent updates to our coverage from the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) meeting, including an article that explains how radiology can serve as an example in the task of moving images from other medical specialties into PACS networks. That article can also be viewed by clicking here.
