DESIGN NECESSITIES FOR FUTURE TELERADIOLO GY SYSTEMS - CONCLUSIONS FROM THE MEDICUS-2 FIELD-TEST

During the Medicus field test we gained ex perience using the teleradi ology system for almost daily teleconferences between a radiology depa rtment and clinics for internal medicine, urology, and gynecology. The existing system has a high degree of functionality. The full 12-bit d ata format is available using the DICOM protocol. A data security conc ept is implemented, ensuring data integrity, privacy and authenticatio n of communication partners. This concept covers the areas of organiza tion, technique, user training, and software implementation. A future system should be a general purpose radiology workstation covering view ing functionality, image manipulation, and digital archive access. Ded icated teleradiology features have to be a part. Specialized evaluatio n software, e. g. for dynamic MRI, should be integratable in a modular way. For data exchange with other systems and for the synchronization of teleconference sessions, the protocols should be independent of th e network standard used (ISDN, Ethernet, ATM) and based on the DICOM p rotocol. Extensions of the existing standard are therefore necessary. Besides future technical developments, reimbursement for teleradiology must be accomplished.