Integration of ultrasound in a fully digital radiology department

The authors' experiences concerning the use of video-framegrabbers for the integration of ultrasound devices into a fully digital imaging environment are presented.

Video acquisition workstations (VAW) (Siemens, Gammasonics Inc., Hoffman Estates, IL) are used in our department to link ultrasound devices to the picture archiving and communication system (PACS). A study was carried out concerning the impact of this integration on throughput by comparing the average times for image acquisition and storage in this digital system with the times found in a conventional archive, which is still used for some ultrasound units. The annual costs for the two kinds of archives were compared.

Video acquisition is a feasible way of integrating ultrasound in a digital environment. No impact on throughput has been found for the radiologist carrying out the examination, but for the assisting technologist, the times for image retrieval and archiving could be reduced from 3 minutes and 8 seconds to 24 seconds per patient. The instant availability of previous studies could be increased from 93.5% to almost 100%. Archive costs could be reduced by 28%, with further reductions to be expected using different archive configurations.