In an article published in the Journal of the American College of Radiology on Feb. 9, Dr. Murray Reicher and Dr. Jeremy Wolfe explored potential tweaks that could improve current picture archiving and communication systems.
According to the study authors, radiologists are facing heightened stress levels due to the increasing number of medical images they are required to interpret every day, at workstations that are not optimized for soft-copy diagnosis. In their research paper, Reicher and Wolfe presented several technological enhancements that could revamp current PACS to make them more intuitive.
Most of these enhancements stem from the field of perceptual design. Perceptual design, as explained by the Radiological Society of North America, is "informed by the study of human perception and cognition, and aims to create a radiologist's reading environment that maximally leverages our human capabilities while helping us with our weaknesses."
Another study, published in The Journal of Digital Imaging in May 2000, surveyed radiologists experienced with soft-copy diagnostics to determine the effectiveness of existing PACS and identify potential areas of improvement. Though these studies were published 15 years apart, the conclusions they drew are strikingly similar.
Go Easy on the Eyes
Reicher and Wolfe suggested that side-by-side image viewing – where the radiologist must move his or her eyes back and forth between two images – can make it difficult to detect pathology. Instead, they wrote, images should be displayed in a toggled or flickering mode, with multiple images stacked together.
At a more fundamental level, results from the May 2000 survey concluded that room lighting and monitor brightness were among the most important in promoting radiologist productivity. The study authors noted that radiology rooms have not been optimized for soft-copy reading, and are still designed with the legacy, film-based diagnostic method in mind. Making this shift from legacy design to soft-copy optimized design would likely result in decreased burnout and increased productivity, the researchers postulated.
Go Deeper With Cognition
Integrating eye tracking software into PACS is another simple enhancement proposed by Reicher and Wolfe. The researchers recognized that studies into this software have existed for decades and believe that this is the right time to further explore its use in PACS. Once integrated into the workstation, this software would track user eye movement and highlight only those parts of the screen in view at the time. With continuous use, the software could also collect sufficient data to create personalized protocols based on the radiologist's ocular behaviors.
Distraction-Free Viewing
Finally, Reicher and Wolfe proposed using PACS workstations as virtual assistants. Intelligent systems would learn the mental workflow of the radiologist and adapt accordingly. For example, instead of interrupting radiologists with messages or calls during tasks, these platforms would reroute calls to other available professionals. The use of workflow management systems, in addition, would effectively route the incoming flow of image exams by assigning them to the appropriate radiologist.
PACS Status
In addition to optimizing PACS within organizational departments, many healthcare professionals foresee the need for image sharing across departments and health care entities. A brief published by Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society Analytics acknowledges the extensive use of PACS within the health care sector and identifies potential areas of growth. In particular, the study highlights the benefits of an enterprise viewing system that provides access to images without restrictions on location.
"While many organizations are comfortable with their PACS imaging technology, there seems to be some opportunity on an enterprise level to get as much information as possible into the hands of physicians at the point of care," HIMSS Research Director Brendan Fitzgerald told Health Imaging. "Enterprise imaging viewing capabilities across numerous technology platforms could potentially aid in that effort."
Ronny Bachrach
Latest posts by Ronny Bachrach (see all)
- Konica Minolta Debuts First-of-Its-Kind Digital U-Arm System at AHRA - July 27, 2016
- Researchers Detect Signs Of Stroke Risk Using MRI - June 27, 2016
- Imaging Biz: Q&A with David S. Channin MD: How to Make PACS Patient Centered - June 22, 2016
0
0
0
