Multimedia perspectives for next generation PAC systems

The design of a multimedia medical information system implies an extension of the issues previously described for PAC (picture archiving and communications) systems. Database structures must be defined to describe the physical features and the clinical contents of each kind of multimedia clinical data. Mass storage requirements dramatically increase to archive audio and/or video sequences. As for PACS, high-speed networking is necessary. Moreover, the transfer of multimedia information implies further requirements for the network subsystem, e.g. the capability to support isochronous traffic. In order to achieve a richer interaction of the radiologist with the system, the user workstation must be properly equipped to allow access and presentation of multimedia data. At a higher level, the hypertext model can be exploited for effective consultation of clinical data. All these issues have been considered in the design of a multimedia system under development at IBM Rome Scientific Center. The system addresses multimedia information management and can provide the basis of an advanced PAC system