Round table discussions: standardisation and its role in PACS and medical imaging.

The round table discussions dealt with standardisation and its role in PACS and medical imaging, and with the assessment of medical imaging and targeting R & D based on that. Two approaches to enable image files to be transferred were discussed in the standardisation sessions. Firstly, the standardisation efforts in Europe, USA and Japan which all focus on a single standard on image transfer and file format were discussed. A plea was made to merge these three approaches. It was also noted that the Japanese IS&C standard is essentially a standard for off-line PACS. Secondly, an argument was raised that as several i age file formats are already in existence (because of the different computer platforms in use), what is needed are converters between these de-facto formats instead of striving towards one common standard. The round table on assessment focused on the changes in the radiological practices which are already emerging following the introduction of new digital imaging modalities. It was argued that PACS will cause further organisational changes because a hospital-wide PACS enables images to be viewed everywhere. The radiology meetings have been the mechanism for discussing difficult cases. In the PACS world their role may change. However, PACS will only diffuse when it offers clear advantages over the present procedures. This means that PACS, digital imaging and radiology practices evolve in parallel and incrementally.