Hospital-wide distribution of nuclear medicine studies through a broadband digital network

Nuclear medicine provides a good environment for the evaluation of picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) because of the relatively small quantity of digital data that are generated, leading to reduced requirements for storage, display, and transmission compared with those found in radiology. The PACS in nuclear medicine is characterized by use of a single computer as a central storage, display, and analysis node. Images are acquired with use of small, low-cost computers attached to each camera. This network configuration offers advantages of convenience, but with great reliance on a single computer. A campus-wide picture network is under development at Washington University employing broadband cable television technology supplemented by baseband Ethernet (Digital Equipment Corp, Maynard, MA) components. All areas of diagnostic radiology and nuclear medicine are connected via a PACS testbed project. A radiology information system, supporting over 250 terminals, provides digital tracking of patients and report generation and retrieval. A new image workstation is under development in conjunction with Digital Equipment Corp. This system will permit display in multiple windows of report information and images from various modalities. A lung scan demonstration project is now beginning that is designed to test the value of a PACS in nuclear medicine. Digitally acquired chest radiographs will be displayed on an image workstation in nuclear medicine along with digital ventilation and perfusion lung scans. It is hoped that time-consuming logistic bottlenecks now encountered in lung scan interpretation will be reduced.