Paper
13 July 1998 Integration of multivendor imaging equipment with DICOM into PACS
Albert W. K. Wong, H. K. Huang
Author Affiliations +
Abstract
DICOM provides integration solutions for PACS to interconnect multi-vendor imaging equipment, regardless of computer hardware and operating system platforms, for communication of images. This paper describes our three-year experience integrating heterogeneous imaging systems into a large-scale PACS based on DICOM. Vendor imaging equipment connected to the PACS include (1) six CT and MR imaging devices; (2) two CR systems; (3) two laser film digitizers; (4) one commercial ultrasound PACS module; and (5) eight DICOM-based display workstations. The image communication software implemented in the PACS was modified from Mallinckrodt's Central Test Node software and University of California at Davis' DICOM software to support the Unix-based and Windows NT-based computer systems, respectively. Images acquired from the individual CT/MR devices, CR systems, film digitizers, and the commercial PACS module were transmitted from the acquisition computers to the PACS Controller, where these images were routed to the display workstations and the archive server. Problems during integration included: (1) missing slice image(s) from an image sequence during the acquisition process; (2) incorrect data encoding in image header; (3) DICOM Service Object Pair Class not supported by the Service Class Provider vendor; and (4) DICOM conformance mismatching and shadow group conflict between the individual vendors. These problems were resolved by the mechanisms we implemented in our Image Acquisition Gateways and PACS Controller. The DICOM communications standard provides a simple means of interconnecting multi- vendor equipment for communication of images. However, operating a large-scale PACS configured with heterogeneous imaging systems requires significant effort in software integration to ensure data integrity and operation efficiency.
© (1998) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Albert W. K. Wong and H. K. Huang "Integration of multivendor imaging equipment with DICOM into PACS", Proc. SPIE 3339, Medical Imaging 1998: PACS Design and Evaluation: Engineering and Clinical Issues, (13 July 1998); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.319781
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KEYWORDS
Picture Archiving and Communication System

Image processing

Imaging systems

Computing systems

Imaging devices

Telecommunications

Image acquisition

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