Conception and data transfer analysis of an open-source digital image archive designed for radiology

Purpose: Implementation of a self-designed, web-based digital image archive incorporating the existing DICOM infrastructure to assure distribution of digital pictures and reports and to optimize work flow. Assessment after three years. Materials and Methods: Open-source software was used to guarantee highest reliability and cost effectiveness. In view of rapidly increasing capacity and decreasing costs of hard discs (HDs), HDs were preferred over slower and expensive magneto-optical disk (MOD) or tape storage systems. The number of installed servers increased from one to 12. By installing HDs with increased capacities, the number of servers should be kept constant. Entry and access of data were analyzed over two 4-month periods (after 1.5 and 2 years of continuous operations). Results: Our digital image archive was found to be very reliable, cost effective and suitable for its designated tasks. As judged from the measured access volume, the average utilization of the system increased by 160%. In the period from January to April 2002, the users accessed 239.8 gigabyte of the stored 873.7 gigabyte image data (27 %). The volume of the stored data added 20%, mainly due to an increase in cross-section imaging. Conclusion: The challenge of developing a digital image archive with limited financial resources resulted in a practicable and expandable solution. The utilization, number of active users and volume of transferred data have increased significantly. Our concept of utilizing HDs for image storage proved to be successful.