Image presentation options for a distributed PACS environment

The concept of picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) was introduced in 1980 and was conceived to revolutionize the work-flow of the radiology department. Several early prototypes were developed but were neither practical nor economical. The PACS concept has undergone several major revisions. Recently, distributed digital archiving systems have emerged, and the progress towards all digital radiology departments is underway. One of the economic justifications for digital solutions has been to eliminate wet-processed silver films. In fact, many researchers have equated the PACS environment with a film-less radiology department in order to create an economic justification. This objective was emphasized to a degree that skewed the research direction away from the goals of establishing an effective and efficient radiology department. Film is a storage as well as a display medium, and the economics of replacing it with electronic devices can be challenged. However, the difficulties with controlling the quality of chemically processed film and the requirements of wet processing do not fit the modern environment of digital radiology. These issues are troublesome enough to cause some users to turn to less efficient display solutions. In fact, researchers have experimented with dry hardcopy systems, although these devices create hardcopy output inferior to silver film. In this paper we present a digital printing system with dry hardcopy output, with the quality required by a clinical PACS environment.