The `filmless´ radiology department-a challenge for the introduction of image processing into the medical routine work?

PACS is the acronym for Picture Archiving and Communication Systems. The term has been created in the domain of diagnostic imaging. The basic idea of PACS is to replace the traditional X-ray film archives by digital mass stores. All films are meant to be converted to digital data, and all diagnostic workplaces, at which images are produced or evaluated, are to be connected to the digital archive via digital networks. The key issues of PACS systems are new services (digital image archival and image management), non-physical image transport (networking) and the changing work environment (digital image workstations). The author describes several novel approaches developed by PACS research to demonstrate how the specific problems encountered with PACS can potentially be solved and gives examples of image processing applications stimulated by the PACS work