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Picture Archiving and Communication Systems

Picture Archiving and Communication Systems, or PACS, have become an essential part of the medical imaging department in almost any practice. Their role is to electronically collect and store many of the image files that are created for any patient. Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (PACS) combine hard copies and digital copies and then store, retrieve, manage, distribute, and present this data whenever needed.  “PACS systems,” as most people redundantly refer to them, convert most of these images, whether in hard copy format or digital format, into its universal format: DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine). The PACS image can then be stored or transferred. At times, scanned documents may be collected and stored in consumer-industry standard formats, such as PDF (Portable document Format).

A Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (PACS) usually features four main components:

- An imaging apparatus such as CT and MRI.
- A protected network used to transmit and share a patient’s information
-  Workstations used to receive, retrieve, interpret, and review the images.
- An archive to store the images and reports for future retrieval.
 
“PACS systems” have proven to be an integral part in patient care improvement. The efficacy of PACS and its ability to instantly deliver data have completely diminished the need to physically deliver, retrieve, or distribute any traditional film-based images.
MedicExchange lists well-known PACS companies and presents its members with detailed profiles, as well as detailed PACS products listings. Our goal is to aide our members, and potential buyers, in their PACS product comparisons.