Cloud computing and virtualization technology in radiology.

The last decade has seen significant advances in information technology (IT) and medical imaging that has forever changed the way we work and communicate. The transition from hard-copy film to electronic picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) has enabled the radiology department to deliver improved patient care with current and historical imaging available to the clinician at the point of care. Radiology information systems (RIS) are used in combination with PACS to control workflow and store the generated radiology reports. The modern radiologist is increasingly required to have knowledge of the technology used in PACS and RIS in order to maximize the diagnostic opportunities offered by these systems. In addition, a better understanding of current technology enables the radiologist to play an active role in the procurement of PACS ensuring the precise needs of their department are met. Diagnostic radiology workstations need sophisticated software and network settings to be configured in order to retrieve and review images, perform multi-planar reformats and generate a report that can be transmitted to the requesting clinician. The installation, maintenance, and upgrading of workstations is a costly and time-consuming process requiring the support of a highly skilled IT team. “Cloud computing” and “virtualization” are terms that are commonly encountered in radiology and health informatics but not fully understood. Cloud computing centralizes the radiology infrastructure, imaging software, data storage and the network configuration which can then be