What is PACS Server?
PACS stands for picture archiving and communication system. As the name shows this is a cloud based system which is used for storing medical image data and files by doctors, medical experts and particularly the radiologists. As the radiologists deal with medical imaging, they use it very often.
Now that you know what is PACS server, you may wonder why PACS is so important and needed. There was a time when the hospitals used digital films. This method in now obsolete just because it was a long, hectic, and ineffective process. Moreover, the digital films took a lot of space to store and sharing these films was not possible. Then came medical imaging like CDs and they remained popular for some time. These were good but sharing was again the issue with this method.
Medical scientists figured out for a solution that offers cloud based storage service to the doctors and radiologists. PACS is what we say cloud based medical image storage system. Image data stored in PACS is really easy to share, accessible to all concerned departments, safe and secure. PACS also offers huge space when it comes to data storage.
How PACS Cloud Works?
PACS is a combination of hardware as well as software. That means you need physical infrastructure, devices, tools and equipment to set up PACS and on the same side a software based system runs the whole process. But the major role is played by software with which the radiologists interact for storing, sharing and archiving important data.
Let’s know more about what is PACS server.
When it comes to the architecture of the PACS server/system there are four major components that are listed below.
- A hardware imaging machine
- A secure network for the distribution and exchange of important patient data- this is called the server
- A mobile device for processing, viewing and interpreting image data
- Electronic archives for storing and retrieving image data and reports
The hardware and software systems of PACS are connected with a server that contains all the imaging data, reports and files. Whenever the staff of the hospital or radiologists have to access that data, they will need to connect with the server through LAN or WAN (local area network and wide area network).
But the most recent option which is web-based also allows the doctors, professionals and radiologists to access the data. They can use a virtual private network as well. But it should be noted the network connection is safe and secure. With this option, the radiologists can access data with their devices or computers anywhere, but there should have internet connection.
A growing majority of the users, including doctors, radiologists and other healthcare employees, believe this option is better than others. The user will have access to the server and all the data no matter where they are and which device they have- the web-based system facilitates them in this regard.
Over the years, PACS and RIS system has become even more popular. Few years ago it was just $1 billion of worth but now it stands near $3 billion and the experts believe it will continue to grow. Why? The reason is it offers the modern and the most convenient imaging sharing, storing and archiving option with unlimited data storage.