PACS have traditionally relied on relational, schema-based Structured Query Language (SQL) databases for their image information storage; however, that's no longer the best base platform for managing medical image archiving and distribution, said presenter Simon Rascovsky, MD, from Instituto de Alta TecnologĂa MĂ©dica de Antioquia (IATM) in MedellĂn, Colombia.
A document-based database, such as the open-source CouchDB, offers a number of advantages, including a lack of reliance on schema, storage of all DICOM metadata without modification or stripping, and ease of adding query functionality, Rascovsky said.
"The use of document-based databases brings significant benefits to image management and distribution, and should be seriously considered in the development of next-generation PACS," Rascovsky told AuntMinnie.com.
