Abstract
2020
Objectives Rapid access to medical imaging data enables improved patient care; however, for referring clinicians this access is limited by numerous factors including heterogeneity and limited compatibility of software/hardware, as well as their location in clinics and consulting rooms. We developed a new technique that allows these clinicians rapid access to PET-CT via smartphones to obviate the above limitations.
Methods Our middleware allows medical workstations to automatically share 3D PET-CT and patient data with smartphones (and each other) via ad-hoc wireless, Wi-Fi or 3G Internet. As a peer-to-peer system, it builds a data-sharing network that does not rely on a single server or connection. As middleware, it allows the simultaneous operation of medical workstations in real-time, adapts to bandwidth and availability changes (rerouting data where necessary to ensure stability), and can work with any workstation that implements a simple plug-in.
Results We developed a PET-CT viewer and patient database for desktop PCs, and extended these to use our middleware. We measured response time and frames per second (FPS) in typical usage for tele-consultation or rapid review, and measured the system’s response to connection instability by varying signal strength. Our tests showed >=14 FPS, a 32.71 ms response delay, and average of 6.8 s to reroute data when interrupted.
Conclusions Our technique automates the linking of medical software systems to smartphone interfaces. Our prototyping suggests that smartphones can readily access multimedia diagnostic medical imaging data for rapid review and enhanced patient care.
- © 2009 by Society of Nuclear Medicine