Medical information systems such as Radiology Management Information Systems (RIS), Picture Archiving and Communications (PACS) and Hospital Information Systems (HIS) will soon be standard tools to support routine work in hospitals. An interface between PACS/RIS and RIS/HIS is increasingly necessary in order to co-ordinate the flow of information throughout these systems. This book discusses a systematic analysis of interfacing strategies. An introduction is given to the status of present radiology departments and trends for the future. Then, to define a PACS-RIS interface in a multivendor environment, the so-called Marburg Model is described: a comprehensive systems analysis method that includes the requirements of radiologists, software and hardware engineers, and medical informatitians. A detailed PACS-RIS interface for a specific systems implementation is derived using the Marburg Model, which can be used as a standardized approach to designing interfaces.

1 Introduction

2 Towards Image Processing - Development of a Strategy for a Radiology Department
1 Motivation
2 Implementation Strategy
3 Medical Research
3 Developments and Current Trends in RIS and PACS
4 Interfaces between Systems - An Important Step in System Design
1 Introduction
2 Interfacing versus Integrating
3 Importance of Interfaces
4 Quality of Interfaces
5 Types of Interfaces, Reference Models
5 Standardizing Interfaces in Radiology - The ACR-NEMA Standard
1 The ACR-NEMA Standard
2 The Standard Product Interconnect (SPI)
3 Applicability of ACR-NEMA to the RIS-PACS Interface
6 The Marburg Model
1 Introduction
2 Other Approaches to RIS-PACS Interface Specification
3 Description of the Model
4 Methodology to Construct the Model
5 Tools for Model Construction
6 Methodology to Derive the Interface
7 Experiences in Using the Methodology
8 Limitations of and Future Developments in the Methodology
7 A Detailed RIS-PACS Interface Specification - Based on the Marburg Model
1 The Model
2 The Interface
8 Future Perspectives and Research Needs
List of Authors.