Modality interfacing: the impact of a relay station

We evaluated the effect of a deploying a relay station on demographic discrepancies, image segmentation for routing, quality control (QC), and technologist workflow in a distributed architecture type picture archiving and communication system (PACS) environment. A currently existing PACS environment for computed tomography (CT) was evaluated before and after the implementation of a relay station for demographic error-rate and correct study routing to the workstations. Assessment of the technologists' perceptions with respect to numerous workflow factors was performed with a questionnaire. Statistical analysis was performed using a chi-square test. The demographic error rate for CT examinations was nearly abolished with relay station deployment (14.0% pre-Relay v 0.55% post-Relay, P < .001, chi2). The technologists' perception was favorable, with a substantial majority indicating that a positive impact is made on correcting demographic errors (90%), facilitating QC (67%), and ensuring proper routing (77%). A majority also felt the user interface was intuitive (93.3%) and preferred relay (90%) over film handling but that training should be provided both by didactic sessions and "hands on" time with a trainer. The times to perform tasks were favorable for the relay station (1 to 5 minutes) versus film production and handling (2 to 15 minutes). In conclusion, the relay station prospectively eliminates demographic errors, effectively segments images from the same study routing them to different workstations, and can be seamlessly integrated into the technologists' current workflow. This can be scalable and a lower cost solution as opposed to deploying dedicated PACS QC workstations.