Dear AuntMinnie Member,
Finding a better way to import external imaging studies into a PACS network offers a host of potential benefits, from cutting patient radiation dose to enabling better use of imaging resources.
This week in our PACS Digital Community, we describe how one institution -- the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) -- quantified its efforts to import external studies into its PACS. UCSF researchers specifically wanted to know how many repeat exams could be avoided when radiologists were able to review external studies directly from the PACS, rather than having to deal with CDs or other media.
The group found dramatically lower repeat imaging rates for the patients who had their studies imported. Find out how much lower by clicking here.
In other news in the community, learn about a novel project that used a teleradiology link to deliver high-quality interpretation for virtual colonoscopy studies to Madeira, a Portuguese island off the coast of Africa. Learn more by clicking here, or visit the PACS Digital Community at pacs.auntminnie.com.
CT image analysis for lung nodules
We're also bringing you a story in our Advanced Visualization Digital Community about an image analysis study performed by South Korean researchers to differentiate malignant part-solid nodules from nodules that might resolve on their own.
The goal of the study was to find out if patients with certain kinds of nodules detected on CT could be triaged based on the likelihood that their findings would turn out to be cancerous. If it works, the technique could make CT lung screening more cost-effective and clinically practical by reducing the number of benign cases that are followed up.
Find out more by clicking here, or visit the Advanced Visualization Digital Community at av.auntminnie.com.
