This project is intended to capture and interactively display non-image information routinely generated by imaging modalities. This information relates to the device's performance of the individual procedures and is not necessarily available in other information streams such as DICOM headers. While originally intended for use in servicing the modalities, this information can also be presented to radiologists and administrators within the department for both micro- and macro-management purposes. This data can help hospital administrators and radiologists manage available resources and discover clues to indicate what modifications in hospital operations might significantly improve its ability to provide efficient patient care.
Data is collected from a departmental CT scanner. The data consists of a running record of exams followed by a list of processing records logged over a 24-hour period. MineScan extracts information from these records and stores it into a database. A statistical program is run once a day to collect relevant metrics. MineScan can be accessed via a Web browser or through an advanced prototype PACS workstation. This information, if provided in real-time, can be used to manage operations in a busy department. Even when provided historically, the data can be used to assess current activity, analyze trends and plan future operations.
The purpose of this project is to develop a software system to provide feedback to radiologists and other clinicians from interventional procedures in which they participate. Using Health Level Seven (HL7) traffic between the anatomy/pathology information system and other major information systems, we were able to develop a semi-automatic 'tickler' system that can notify clinicians of pathology results as well as the absence of pathology results after a specified time interval. By using this system, radiologists can get more rapid feedback concerning their interpretations and thereby learn to distinguish false positive from true positive cases. Potentially, fewer patients would fall through the follow-up cracks when using our system versus a paper-based method. The system demonstrates, among other things, how HL7 information can be a powerful tool at an institution when used for purposes for which it was not intentionally designed.
We have developed a new mechanism for the delivery of image processing functions to multi-modality PACS diagnostic viewing stations. The tools use the Java programming language. The core visible element of this system is a graphical user interface component that moves around the image(s) like a magnifying glass. Included with the component are controls that are capable of manipulating the image seen within it. The client-server architecture allows for dynamically adding and removing image processing functions as they are developed. In addition to several standard image-processing functions, the component has several novel functions.
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