Oncology-Specific Image Management System Archives Images and Data Generated During Cancer Treatments

An oncology-specific image management and storage system is designed to supplement a hospital's existing picture archiving and communication system (PACS) by making it "oncology-capable” or to operate as a standalone solution for centers that do not have such a system.

Varian Medical Systems, Inc. (Palo Alto, CA, USA) has designed a new product that makes it easier for clinicians to store, manage, and view images generated during cancer treatments. Varian presented its new OncoView image management and storage solution at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) meeting in Chicago, IL, USA, November 30-December 4, 2008.

"OncoView provides oncology professionals with a reliable, scalable way of archiving and accessing the images and data that impact decisions about a patient's course of treatment,” said Karla Knott, senior director of marketing for Varian's Oncology Systems business. "It is designed specifically to archive information covering the entire cancer treatment process from diagnosis to survivorship and follow-up.”

Clinicians are using more images to make decisions and monitor progress over the course of cancer treatments. For image-guided radiotherapy, new images are generated at every step in the treatment process. "There is a vast, and growing, amount of images and related information that must be stored, and clinicians need a reliable system for easily archiving and instantly accessing this information in a meaningful way that is connected to the clinical ‘story line' for each patient,” stated Erwin Nell, manager, systems marketing. "OncoView addresses this need. It supports archiving of the most commonly used imaging modalities in oncology care, including CT [computed tomography], MR [magnetic resonance], PET [positron emission tomography], kV X-rays, cone-beam CT, and electronic portal images. It also stores non-imaging data, including radiotherapy treatment plans, dose levels, and other important treatment details.”

OncoView enables clinicians to retrieve or store important information within its own archive or within hospital PACS through industry standard communication protocols such as HL7 and Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM). It supports a trend in medicine toward paperless and filmless clinical operations that speed workflow and improve cost efficiencies.

"Most conventional PACS are not optimized to support oncology clinical processes,” Mr. Nell said. "For example, they cannot provide a viable means of viewing the DICOM RT [radiotherapy] images that are used in radiotherapy treatment planning. OncoView fills the gap. It also stores images in a way that connects them with a patient's unique clinical ‘story line,' showing the relationships between images and clinical decisions in the context of an entire course of treatment. Conventional PACS lack this functionality, which is crucial to oncology care.”

OncoView interfaces with any standards-based clinical information management system, including Varian's Aria oncology information system.

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