MDIS: A Large PACS and Teleradiology Project

The Medical Diagnostic Imaging Support System (MDIS) is a large project to install Picture Archival and Communications Systems(PACS) and teleradiology across several military medical sites in the U. S. and overseas. Phased implementation began at Madigan Army Medical in Tacoma, Washington in the Spring of 1992, Wright-Patterson Air Force Medical Center in Dayton, Ohio in the Fall of 1992 and Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio in the Winter of 1992/93. Other sites are scheduled to follow in 1993 including teleradiology in Korea and the Azores (off the coast of Portugal). The hardware and software components of the system will be discussed including the computed radiography units, central processing unit (CPU), working storage unit (WSU), fiber network, optical disk jukebox (ODJ), radiology information system (RIS), modality interfacing, and physician monitor workstations. The reliability of the system to date, speed of individual components, storage capacity, user acceptance, and quality of the radiographic images will be discussed. The clinical usefulness of the system will be emphasized. Successes and concerns will be reviewed as well as future developments that are desired.