Multivendor nuclear medicine PACS provides fully-digital clinical operation at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital

In an effort to improve patient care while considering cost-effectiveness, we developed a Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS), which combines imaging cameras, computers and other peripheral equipment from multiple nuclear medicine vendors. The PACS provides fullydigital clinical operation which includes acquisition and automatic organization of patient data, distribution of the data to all networked units inside the department and other remote locations, digital analysis and quantitation of images, digital diagnostic reading of image studies and permanent data archival with the ability for fast retrieval. The PACS enabled us to significantly reduce the amount of film used, and we are currently proceeding with implementing a film-less laboratory. Hard copies are produced on paper or transparent sheets for non-digitally connected parts of the hospital. The PACS provides fully-digital operation which is faster, more reliable, better organized and managed, and overall more efficient than a conventional film-based operation. In this paper, the integration of the various PACS components from multiple vendors is reviewed, and the impact of PACS, with its advantages and limitations on our clinical operation is analyzed.