OSU PACS

PACS is an acronym for Picture Archiving and Communication System, designed by Agfa, Inc. It is a filmless method of communicating and storing radiographs. Images are recorded onto an imaging plate by a laser, quality assured by a RT, and stored on a server. Through the PACS system, radiographs are made available for viewing immediately. There is no chemical processing involved. Moreover, the images can be viewed by a Radiologist from a local office, a remote office, or home using a web browser, a program called RadWeb1000, and a fast Virtual Private Network. The average time of exam to dictation has been brought down to 3 hours.

The transition from traditional film based radiography to filmless images began at OSU in 1992. By April 2001, we were completely filmless. The system saves about one million dollars a year, and frees up about 6,960 physician hours per year. Other benefits include no more lost films, and the ability of several users to view an image simultaneously.

PACS Dataflow Diagram
PACS phone: 614-293-8448
PACS fax: 614-293-6734

The PACS team

The PACS team pictured above are from left to right: Stephen Hanisko, Unetia Scott,
Ty Tolley, Angelique Jacopin, Yvette Mitchell, Greg Bennington, Kathy Tunstall, Cindy Bringardner, Dan Wahl, Rozena Davis, Phil Larkin, and Deborah Harden. Not shown
here are Rebecca May Harden and Brad Meyers.

The PACS team in general is comprised of:
1 Administrator (Kathy Tunstall)
1 PACS engineer (Dan Wahl)
4 RT staff
4 Clerical staff
1 SAS (Agfa Service Support)

It is their job to manage access and security for all users, provide system training classes, facilitate hard copy and CD image availability to individuals without on-line access, maintain and manage the system, and provide support on a 24 hour on-call basis.