[Micro-wave local area network for radiological image transmission]

Shinshu University consists of five campuses in different locations, a situation that presents some problems in communication. To solve this problem, the Shinshu University Video and Data Network System (SUNS), which includes a high-speed audio-visual transfer function, has been developed and utilized for pre- and postgraduate education, administrative teleconferences, and local telephone (PBX) and Fax services. In 1988, a cooperative group for the study of radiographic image processing was organized, consisting of staff members of Shinshu University Hospital in Matsumoto, the Faculty of Engineering in Nagano (75 km from Matsumoto) and the Faculty of Textile Science and Technology in Ueda (45 km from Matsumoto). The system has been developed with a pair of personal computer (PC)-based interactive image workstations and high-speed digital telecommunication interfaces to the SUNS. A transmission time of 878 kbps has been attained, including the time needed for read/write onto the PC hard disk. Image data thus transferred from the hospital have been utilized for the study of image processing by researchers in the Faculty of Engineering, and the processed images have been sent back to the hospital for evaluation of clinical efficacy of the processing by diagnostic radiologists. This kind of microwave network is a promising alternative for high-speed data transmission for radiological images and their processing.