Anatomy of an Extensible Open Source PACS

Area of Science:

• Medical Informatics
• Software Engineering
• Health Information Technology

Background:

• Cost-effective Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (PACS) are crucial for small to medium medical imaging facilities, research, and developing countries.
• Low adoption rates of PACS are linked to financial constraints and specific institutional needs.
• The evolving landscape of ubiquitous computing and healthcare data sharing initiatives (e.g., IHE, XDS-i) necessitates adaptable PACS solutions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce Dicoogle, a software framework designed for rapid prototyping and deployment of new functionalities within PACS.
• To leverage embedded Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) services for enhanced PACS capabilities.
• To provide a flexible and extensible PACS archive solution for research and development.

Main Methods:

• Developed Dicoogle as a full-fledged PACS archive with a plugin-based architecture.
• Integrated comprehensive DICOM services for data handling and exploration.
• Implemented advanced data discovery and retrieval mechanisms based on DICOM object indexing.

Main Results:

• Dicoogle enables quick prototyping and deployment of new PACS functionalities.
• The framework facilitates exploration of large DICOM datasets and associated metadata.
• It supports use cases like radiation dosage monitoring, Content-Based Image Retrieval (CBIR), and software engineering education.

Conclusions:

• Dicoogle's plugin architecture and DICOM integration make it highly extensible and adaptable.
• The framework is suitable for prototyping, experimentation, and bridging functionality with existing systems.
• Dicoogle aids in data discovery, retrieval, and identifying data inconsistencies in healthcare institutions.