Some applications for a personal computer data-base system in radiology

Realistic viewing and manipulation of radiographic images on a personal computer--a user interface for educational applications

The authors have designed a user interface for the display and manipulation of radiographic images that is intended for use in digitized teaching files and computer-aided instruction (CAI) applications. By making the way the viewer interacts with a set of digitized images on the computer screen as similar as possible to the interaction with conventional films on a view-box the authors have tried to create a system that combines the directness of the conventional teaching file with the power and flexibility of CAI. This is accomplished on readily available personal computer workstations.

Fast personal computer based retrieval system for a high-volume database of a radiology information system

A personal computer system has been used to facilitate search and analysis of a radiology information system database (RADOS) for research purposes. The system enables flexible retrieval of examination data and radiographic findings with subsequent graphical manipulations. With modifications it could be implemented on other radiology information systems.

A prototype of a high-resolution computerized radiology teaching file

Computers provide an excellent tool for handling the task of organizing a radiology teaching file. Currently available computerized teaching files are either film-based, slide-based, or use laser-disc video technology for image display. There are obvious advantages to having the management of radiologic images under the control of a computer, and the need for a higher resolution alternative to video laser-disc technology becomes apparent when one tries to computerize a chest radiology teaching file. We describe the prototype of such a system, named MIRTLE, (the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology Teaching and Learning Environment) which was designed to integrate text under the control of a custom data base with high-resolution digital images from a Picture Archiving and Communications System. This system with its easy-to-use windows environment should allow a significant increase in the use of the radiology teaching file.

User discipline in a personal computer-based filing of ultrasound records

The discipline of entering ultrasound examination data in a personal computer file was studied over two periods. During the first period (19 weeks), the use of the computer was limited to one laboratory. During the second period (14 weeks), the computer was shared by three laboratories operating in nearby premises. During the study, 2857 (89%) of a total of 3209 ultrasound examinations performed were duly recorded in the data file. The frequency of failure to enter data was markedly higher during the second period (7-45%) than during the first period (5%) of the study. Overall, there was a highly significant (p less than 0.001) tendency to enter pathological findings at the expense of normal and non-diagnostic findings. The ease of access to the computer and the number of examinations recorded appear to determine user conscientiousness in filing data. Selection and omission of data impair the usefulness of the data log in research.

Development and evaluation of a radiological reporting system for use with a personal computer

A computer-assisted radiological reporting system (CRRS) was developed for the efficient management and effective use of a database of radiological information. The system consists of a computer terminal linked to an HIS, a reporting console and a personal computer in the local area network of the radiology department, and a radiography care reader which transfers basic data on the patient from the HIS to the CRRS. The patient's name, hospital ID number, sex and date of birth, the department from which the patient has been referred, in-patient/out-patient status and the procedure needed are recorded on magnetic cards (radiography cards) issued to radiology patients. The system has been successfully used in all diagnostic procedures for 8 months: 16,300 reports have been printed out and stored. The system has made it possible to implement the complete radiological reporting procedure for clinical applications, and the required data can easily be retrieved and used. It has proved to be quite easy to use CRRS to obtain diagnostic histories, and the improved efficiency of the reporting procedure has enabled the cost of a clerk typist to be eliminated.