Optical disk archiving using a personal computer: a solution to image storage problems in diagnostic imaging departments.

Abstract

The paper describes an approach to solving the problem of providing a large-capacity image archive for diagnostic imaging departments at reasonable cost. Optical disk stores, when fitted retrospectively to scanners, are very expensive and may not be compatible with existing computer hardware. We describe the use of an industry standard personal computer (PC) linked to a standard 5 1/4-in. optical disk drive as a 'stand-alone' image store. Image data are transferred from the scanner using 8-in. floppy disks, and these are read into the PC using an attached 8-in. floppy disk drive and then transferred to the optical disk. The patient details (patient name, ID, date, etc.) are entered into a database program held on the PC and these are used to generate a reference pointer to the optical disk file through which the data can be retrieved. Data retrieval involves entering the patient details into the data base and inserting a blank 8-in. floppy disk into the drive attached to the PC. A sector copy is then made from the optical disk to the 8-in. floppy disk, which can then be used at the viewing station at the scanner. The system is flexible since it can accept data from a variety of sources in any format; it is also low cost and operates independently of the scanner. The hardware is industry standard, ensuring low maintenance costs.