Picture archiving and communications system in radiotherapy

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging Informatics
• Radiotherapy Technology
• Health Information Systems

Background:

• Picture Archiving and Communications System (PACS) is widely used in diagnostic radiology.
• Radiotherapy departments have limited adoption of PACS for treatment archiving.
• Radiotherapy systems widely use Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM).

Purpose of the Study:

• To discuss the challenges of integrating PACS into radiotherapy departments.
• To propose a solution for long-term patient treatment archiving using PACS.
• To provide an example of a PACS integration solution in a large English radiotherapy department.

Main Methods:

• Literature review on PACS integration in healthcare.
• Analysis of challenges specific to radiotherapy workflows.
• Case study of a PACS implementation in a radiotherapy setting.

Main Results:

• Identified key challenges in PACS integration for radiotherapy, including data management and workflow compatibility.
• Presented a viable solution for long-term archiving of radiotherapy patient treatments.
• Demonstrated the feasibility of PACS integration through a practical example.

Conclusions:

• Overcoming PACS integration challenges is crucial for advancing radiotherapy data management.
• Implementing PACS in radiotherapy can enhance archival, review, and reporting of patient treatment data.
• The proposed solution offers a pathway for successful PACS adoption in radiotherapy departments.