Control method for preloading with priority information in an integrated radiology information system/picture archiving and communication system

More than 10 years has passed since the concept of picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) was first proposed. A great deal of effort has been expended to make PACS suitable for routine use in clinical settings, but only a few systems are currently used in this manner. A major reason is the lack of the assurance of throughput equivalent to that of a conventional system based on order sheets and analog films. In this report, two techniques to increase throughput have been introduced and studied. The first is the preloading of data elements from the various information systems and the PACS. The second is the use of the priority information to rank order the examinations placed on the list for interpretation. We have applied these techniques to an actual system and have measured the distribution of time for processing examinations. These two techniques appear to make PACS useful in routine practice, because most of the urgent cases were interpreted within the target time of 40 minutes.