Abstract
One of the advantages that a picture archiving and communications system (PACS) is supposed to provide over a film-based operation is improved performance in retrieving images. Although it seems self-evident that this should be so, this experiment was intended to verify this and to provide some time comparisons for the two methods. The experiment consisted of randomly selecting ultrasound and computed tomography cases and determining how long it took to retrieve files at a PACS workstation or in person from the file room. To simulate actual retrieval volumes, a total of 40 cases from current to 6 months old, 20 cases from the past year, and 10 cases more than 1 year old was selected. Results indicate that PACS retrieval can indeed be faster than file room retrieval. However, the difference is less for recent cases than for older cases. For cases 6 or fewer months old, the workstation retrieval was approximately 2.5 minutes faster per case than the film file room. This time difference increased markedly when extended to the 1-year and older-than-1-year groups. This report details the results of this study and provides information about the reliability of the two archives.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Elliott LP, Mun SK, Horii SC: Digital Imaging Network System (DINS) Evaluation Report. McLean, VA, MITRE Corporation, contract no. N-55201, March 1990
Mun SK, Benson HR, Welsh C, et al: Baseline study of radiology services for the purpose of PACS evaluation. Proc SPIE 914:978–987, 1988
Dwyer III SJ, Templeton AW, Martin NL, et al: Cost of managing the digital diagnostic images for a 614 bed hospital. Proc SPIE 318:3–8, 1982
Greinacher CFC, Bach F, Müller K, et al: A realistic approach to evaluating digital imaging systems. Proc SPIE 454:91–98, 1984
Cerva JR, Kerlin BD, Pocinki LS: Filmless radiology: The design, integration, implementation, and evaluation of a digital imaging network. McLean, VA, MITRE Corporation, MITRE report MTR-90W00040, pp 3-1-3-4, 1990
Mun SK, Benson HR, Welsh C, et al: Baseline study of radiology services. Proc SPIE 914:985, 1988
Levine BA, Mun SK, Benson HR, et al: Assessment of the integration of a HIS/RIS with a PACS. Proc SPIE 1234:391–397, 1990
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Reprinted with permission from Medical Imaging VI: Picture Archiving and Communications Systems, Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers, 1992.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Horii, S.C., Levine, B.A., Goger, G. et al. A comparison of case retrieval times: Film versus picture archiving and communications systems. J Digit Imaging 5, 138–143 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03167762
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03167762