PACS in practice: on-line communications in daily routine.

After a preparatory phase in which a software link was realized, on-line communications between a diagnostic reporting console and a computed tomography (CT) apparatus were set-up. Two specific groups of CT investigations were selected to be diagnosed in a 'digital' as well as a 'conventional' manner. The 'digital' diagnosis implies medical as well as organizational aspects. The latter will be illustrated by an organization study based on activity diagrams performed to set-up a prototype digital archive (PDA). The PDA was developed to determine the information to be stored in a digital archive and the requirements that users have in accessing image data and corresponding attributes. First experiences with respect to the organizational aspects of this clinical picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) project, in which on-line communications are used in daily routine, will be presented.