IMPLEMENTATION OF MULTIVENDOR DICOM STANDARD IMAGE TRANSFER IN-HOSPITAL WIDE ATM NETWORK

At Hamamatsu University Hospital, an ATM + FDDI network was installed in January 1995, when the hospital information system was upgraded. Wi th its unique 'wheel' shape configuration, FDDI automatically backs up in case of an ATM switch failure. The authors implemented a DICOM ima ge database server and DICOM viewer in the Hamamatsu University Hospit al ATM + FDDI network. The DICOM standard worked well between differen t vendor products. In sending 512 x 512, 2 byte CT images, 40% of the transfer time was spent for the network data transfer, which is 70% of the theoretical value of 10 Mb peripheral transfer rate. Meanwhile, A TM load factor increased less than 0.5%. As we have a very fast data t ransfer network, we must check display speed, hard disc access time, P C bus speed, and display software, in order to enjoy the high speed ne twork transfer fully. The sequence of image transmission within a stud y is not stated in the DICOM document and is depending on the server. Therefore, there should be an agreement between server and clients. st ill more than DICOM, in order to make better PACS. (C) 1998 Elsevier S cience Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.