Interactive streaming of DICOM image objects into viewers is the fundamental operation driving a quality user experience in diagnostic image interpretation. Unintelligent sequential downloading of images one-by-one is the norm with most current PACS solutions. Physicians are forced and trained to live with sub-optimal performance. Consider CT/MR type modalities with a good number of priors and complex hanging protocols. Image streaming algorithms must work asynchronously and feed images to the viewer dynamically based on hanging protocols and user interactions. For example, user moves the mouse and we need to show image number 450 in a stack of 1450 images within a particular window. Even plain film imaging and mammography can get tricky with a lot of priors. On the cardiology side, it gets more complicated because of the sheer volume of data and multi-frame image sequences. A typical complete Echo exam these days has 90 to 150 sequences and each sequence consists of several seconds of high resolution frames. If the server and the client are on the same local network, it is not a big problem. However in a broadband configuration, for instant access to exams on an ad-hoc basis, intelligent streaming is a must to get the job done.
Medical image streaming is nothing new to ScImage. Since the inception of picom365.com in 2000, image streaming has been an integral part of the PICOM family of products. Speed and stability of the Internet, broadband technologies and even on-premises network infrastructures have dramatically changed over the past fourteen years. Being an innovative company that challenges the status quo, ScImage has continuously enhanced image streaming algorithms to unleash the power of modern network topologies.
Welcome to the third generation PICOM Streaming – SmartStream™
It is fast, it is intelligent, and it predicts user movements. SmartStream™ delivers robust throughput and is completely stealth. It uses different logic patterns for radiology and cardiology viewers to deliver the right content at the right time. It strikes the correct balance between sequential packet transmission and ad-hoc packet transmission. The result is a 50% boost in speed compared to ScImage’s second generation HyperStream™ algorithm. Even with a 100+ sequence echo exam, if there is a decent Internet connection, you should start seeing images in about two seconds. Users will see the same performance with large CTA exams. Plain film and the remainder of medical imaging is a breeze.
