On-the-fly generation of multiplanar reformation images independent of CT scanner type

We propose a system that automatically generates multiplanar reformation (MPR) images on-the-fly, which is independent of computed tomography (CT) scanner type. Triggered by digital imaging communication in medicine (DICOM) Storage Commitment or in a time threshold manner, this system generates MPR images from received thin-section CT data sets with predefined reformation parameters and then sends MPR images to DICOM stations. Users can specify the reformation parameters and the destination of the resulting MPR images for each CT study description. A pilot system was tested for 3 months. From thin-section data sets received from two 16- and one 64-detector-row CT scanners, this system generated MPR images and sent them to the picture archiving and communication system (PACS) without failure or any additional human operation. For 143 test thin-section CT studies (172-4,761 images in each study), the time to store reformatted images (axial and coronal with 5-mm thicknesses and 4-mm intervals) in PACS after the completion of the CT scan ranged from 92 to 1,772 s (mean +/- SD, 555.1 +/- 509.4).