Evaluating the digital storage requirements for a partial picture archive and communication system

The study evaluates the volume of digital images produced in a department of diagnostic imaging, with the primary goal of identifying the requirements of digital storage for a partial picture archive and communication system (PACS). The daily activity of digital units (one computed tomography unit, one magnetic resonance imaging, two ultrasonography, and one digital subtraction angiography), which perform 25% of total examinations in the department, was analyzed to determine the number of images produced by digital techniques. They account for 65% to 70% of the total images. The storage capacity necessary to contain all digital data produced in a 800-bed hospital reaches nearly 100 Gbyte/yr without compression. The study emphasizes that a partial PACS can be economically justified through reduced film-archiving costs. This goal could be achieved through a selection of significant images and examinations, considerably reducing the cost of film reproduction and allowing the amortization of a partial PACS in about 5 or 6 years.