Supporting growth of digital imaging

Today's digital imaging industry has come very far for hospitals. The basic technology is ready, and hospitals are now acquiring, viewing, and storing more and more of their images digitally. The problem is--all of this is still only happening inside the radiology room. What's needed now for digital imaging to realise its full potential--both in cost savings and in improved patient care--is a supporting infrastructure of hardware, software and service options that extends image viewing outside of the radiology room and into the rest of the hospital. In fact, two of the most critical components for the widespread distribution of images are firstly, the availability of viewing hardware (especially DICOM-calibrated displays) whose cost and features are tailored to each user environment, and secondly, the ability for hospitals to manage this distributed hardware and provide quality assurance from one centralised location.