Radiation exposures of cancer patients from medical X-rays: how relevant are they for individual patients and population exposure?

X-ray procedures have a substantial impact not only on patient care but also on man-made radiation exposure. Since a reliable risk-benefit analysis of medical X-rays can only be performed for diagnosis-related groups of patients, we determined specific exposure data for patients with the ten most common types of cancer. For all patients with the considered cancers undergoing medical X-ray procedures in a maximum-care hospital between 2000 and 2005, patient- and examination-specific data were retrieved from the hospital/radiology information system.

[Impact of a PACS/RIS-integrated speech recognition system on radiology reporting time and report availability].

Purpose: Quantification of the impact of a PACS/RIS-integrated speech recognition system (SRS) on the time expenditure for radiology reporting and on hospital-wide report availability (RA) in a university institution.

Material And Methods: In a prospective pilot study, the following parameters were assessed for 669 radiographic examinations (CR): 1. time requirement per report dictation (TED: dictation time (s)/number of images [examination] x number of words [report]) with either a combination of PACS/tape-based dictation (TD: analog dictation device/mini-cassette/transcription) or PACS/RIS/speech recognition system (RR: remote recognition/transcription and OR: online recognition/self-correction by radiologist), respectively, and 2.

[Speech recognition: impact on workflow and report availability].

With ongoing technical refinements speech recognition systems (SRS) are becoming an increasingly attractive alternative to traditional methods of preparing and transcribing medical reports. The two main components of any SRS are the acoustic model and the language model. Features of modern SRS with continuous speech recognition are macros with individually definable texts and report templates as well as the option to navigate in a text or to control SRS or RIS functions by speech recognition.

[Possibilities for workflow optimization in radiology departments beyond RIS and PACS].

Technological progress and the rising cost pressure on the healthcare system have led to a drastic change in the work environment of radiologists today. The pervasive demand for workflow optimization and increased efficiency of its activities raises the question of whether by employment of electronic systems, such as RIS and PACS, the potentials of digital technology are sufficiently used to fulfil this demand. This report describes the tasks and structures in radiology departments, which so far are only insufficiently supported by commercially available electronic systems but are nevertheless substantial.

[PACS: storage and retrieval of digital radiological image data].

Background: Efficient handling of both picture archiving and retrieval is a crucial factor when new PACS installations as well as technical upgrades are planned.

Materials And Methods: For a large PACS installation for 200 actual studies, the number, modality,and body region of available priors were evaluated. In addition, image access time of 100 CT studies from hard disk (RAID), magneto-optic disk (MOD), and tape archives (TAPE) were accessed.