<title>Dial-up switched 56,000 bits-per-second teleradiology system</title>

Abstract

A dial-up, wide bandwidth, digital teleradiology system was implemented between Irwin Army Community Hospital (Fort Riley, Kansas), Munson Army Community Hospital (Fort Leavenworth, Kansas), and the University ofKansas (KU) Medical Center (Kansas City, Kansas). A laserfilm digitizer and a gray scale display system were used at Irwin and Munson Army Community Hospitals to digitize radiographicfilms and display digital images. A laserfilm printer at KU Medical Center generates a film hardcopy ofthe transmitted digital data and an interactive gray scale display is used to review the digital image data. The communication system consists ofdial-up, switched, multiple 56,000 bits per second digital channels, transmitting digital image data in parallel. Conventional radiographicfilms, multfornwt camerafilms, and laserprintedfilmsfrom inultimodality imaging systems--computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance (MR), ultrasound (US), nuclear medicine (NM), digitalfluorography, and phosphor plate computed radiography (CR)--have been successfully digitized, transmitted, and laser film recorded or gray scale displayed. It is concluded that the implemented dial-up, wide bandwidth, multiple 56,000 bits per second digital teleradiology system provides clinically acceptable image quality reproductions.

SPIE Medical Imaging 50th anniversary: history of the Picture Archiving and Communication Systems Conference

“…Papers analyzing PACS performance including operations, clinical assessments and user interface optimization at academic hospitals and for military installations were numerous. 229 – 237 Networks were described including use of a dial-up 56Kbit modem, 238 and high-speed technologies were becoming available. 239 – 242 Description of other necessary PACS components beyond the display station were presented including embedding PACS databases with HIS/RIS functionality.…”