Connecting micros: local area networks and alternatives.
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We have developed an automated electronic anesthesia record system using a hospital LAN. As the number of monitors we can use in the operating room is increasing, it is impossible to record all physiologic parameters in a handwritten anesthesia record. Physiologic parameters are recorded every 10 seconds from the anesthesia monitor. An operation ordering system by a hospital LAN has been completed and the patient's data are stored in a host computer, and we can use its data for the automated electronic anesthesia record preoperatively. The advantages of the automated electronic anesthesia record are continuous high quality, more data collection than the handwritten anesthesia record, and the electronic database. During a critical period, the anesthesiologist is too busy to plot physiologic parameters but the automated electronic anesthesia record is reliable and accurate. Disadvantage of the automated electronic anesthesia record is some practice required to input clinical events such as drug administration. The handwritten anesthesia record is easy to use and economical. Ergonomic problems still remain to be solved for wider acceptance of the automated electronic anesthesia record in clinical practice. At the end of the operation, intraoperative data are sent to a host computer and the anesthesia record is printed. We can use this database for clinical research and retrospective case reviews. The implementation of the automated electronic anesthesia record in anesthesia practice will improve quality of patient care.
Although it has meant additional work, CDLink has enhanced the productivity and effectiveness of the library's public services program. CDLink enables the library to offer dial-in access to databases, either in CD-ROM or other MS-DOS formats. The VAX MS-DOS connection is a cost-effective way to combine the benefits of remote access and multiple simultaneous use. From the user's perspective, CDLink provides free, twenty-four-hour remote access to databases in a friendly, menu-driven environment. For the library staff, the CDLink service represents the achievement of a long-awaited goal.
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Asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) technology emerges as a leading candidate for medical image transmission in both local area network (LAN) and wide area network (WAN) applications. This paper describes the performance of an ATM LAN and WAN network at the University of California, San Francisco. The measurements were obtained using an intensive care unit (ICU) server connecting to four image workstations (WS) at four different locations of a hospital-integrated picture archiving and communication system (HI-PACS) in a daily regular clinical environment. Four types of performance were evaluated: magnetic disk-to-disk, disk-to-redundant array of inexpensive disks (RAID), RAID-to-memory, and memory-to-memory. Results demonstrate that the transmission rate between two workstations can reach 5-6 Mbytes/s from RAID-to-memory, and 8-10 Mbytes/s from memory-to-memory. When the server has to send images to all four workstations simultaneously, the transmission rate to each WS is about 4 Mbytes/s. Both situations are adequate for radiologic image communications for picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) and teleradiology applications.
Wireless personal area networks and local area networks are becoming increasingly more prevalent in the teleradiology and telemedicine industry. Although there has been much debate about the role that Bluetooth will play in the future of wireless technology, both promoters and doubters acknowledge that Bluetooth will have an impact on networking, even if only as a "niche" product. This article provides an overview of the Bluetooth standard and highlights current and future areas of inclusion for use in a teleradiology environment. The possibilities for Bluetooth in a teleradiology environment without wires are nearly boundless and an overview of current and proposed Bluetooth-enabled radiology equipment and vendors is provided. A comparison of Bluetooth and other wireless technologies is provided, including areas of similarity and potential conflict. Bluetooth and other wireless technologies can not only peacefully coexist but also complement each other and provide enhanced teleradiology services.
Legacy local area network (LAN) technologies based on shared media concepts are not adequate for the growth of a large-scale picture archiving and communication system (PACS) in a client-server architecture. First, an asymmetric network load, due to the requests of a large number of PACS clients for only a few main servers, should be compensated by communication links to the servers with a higher bandwidth compared to the clients. Secondly, as the number of PACS nodes increases, the network throughout should not measurably cut production. These requirements can easily be fulfilled using switching technologies. Here asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) is clearly one of the hottest topics in networking because the ATM architecture provides integrated support for a variety of communication services, and it supports virtual networking. On the other hand, most of the imaging modalities are not yet ready for integration into a native ATM network. For a lot of nodes already joining an Ethernet, a cost-effective and pragmatic way to benefit from the switching concept would be a combined ATM/Ethernet switching environment. This incorporates an incremental migration strategy with the immediate benefits of high-speed, high-capacity ATM (for servers and high-sophisticated display workstations), while preserving elements of the existing network technologies. In addition, Ethernet switching instead of shared media Ethernet improves the performance considerably. The LAN emulation (LANE) specification by the ATM forum defines mechanisms that allow ATM networks to coexist with legacy systems using any data networking protocol. This paper points out the suitability of this network architecture in accordance with an appropriate system design.
Integration of multiple information systems of a medical center will change the way physicians work and practice medicine in the future. Several major steps must be taken by an institution to make this a reality. Since 1983, Georgetown has been engaged in an Integrated Academic Information Management System (IAIMS) project to bring together multiple sources of information that reside on different computers and database systems. Georgetown is developing a Biotechnology and Biomedical Knowledge Network that includes informational and clinical databases, scholar workstations, instruction on computer use, a campuswide network with local area network nodes, and a modular approach to systems integration. The IAIMS project, spearheaded by the medical library, has enabled a broad spectrum of health professionals to benefit directly from new, dynamic information services. The network is heavily used; in 1991, more than 2,100 individual users conducted more than 148,500 computer functions and more than 104,000 searches. There is economy of scale in high-volume use. Overall, the average search cost is $1.57; for high use databases the cost is $0.38, and for low use, it is $9.41. As described in this paper, IAIMS offers a cost-effective means of enhancing patient care by improving information services to physicians. At Georgetown, IAIMS has advanced the concept of integration, accelerated use of computers in education, increased user acceptance of advanced technologies, and established cost factors for providing information resources. While progress made in improving the transfer of medical information is impressive, it is clear that IAIMS requires several more years of support to achieve full implementation.
Predictions are that the integration of multiple information systems of a medical center will change the way doctors work and practice medicine in the future. Several major steps must be taken by an institution to make this a reality. The IAIMS program sponsored by the NLM is designed to achieve integration of resources in the medical center environment. The purpose of the IAIMS project at Georgetown is to develop a medical decision support system by bringing together multiple sources of information that reside on disparate computers and different database systems. This immense and complex task is described in this paper from an organizational, academic and technical perspective. Georgetown is developing a Biotechnology and Biomedical Knowledge Network which includes several informational and clinical databases, a variety of scholar workstations, instruction on use of computers, a campus-wide network with local area network nodes and a modular approach to systems integration. The IAIMS project is spearheaded by the medical library which has enabled a broad body of medical center users to benefit directly from new, dynamic services.
Because the health care administrator faces unprecedented demands concerning information, well-designed and carefully selected information systems have become a critical factor in the viability and survival of health care institutions. Local area network systems are having a significant impact in this regard. Among their advantages are flexibility, dependability, low cost, and modularity. Health care facilities, have found networking to be a simple, cost-effective solution to collecting, processing, and distributing large volumes of data. The keys to a successful implementation recommended in this article should assist health care professionals once they have made the hard decision to use a local area network to process their day-to-day transactions.
The World-Wide Web (WWW or Web) is the service which led to the huge popularity of the Internet by making it user friendly. Already in the early years of the Web, this technology was also used to make internal information systems easier to use and hospitals and departments set up "Intranets". An Intranet consists of a Web Server which is installed within a local area network (LAN) and allows information retrieval with a Web browser. This paper highlights the different fields of Intranet applications in radiology and in the hospital and focuses on systems for organisational issues as well as for patient data distribution. While an Intranet can be a solution for many problems, not only in radiology, it is accompanied by serious threats and common misunderstandings which are discussed.
OBJECTIVES: To develop and implement a fully mobile computer terminal that interfaces with our computerized intensive care unit (ICU) local area network and order management system. This system can provide access to the entire network and to order review and entry and during ICU bedside rounds. DESIGN: Descriptive report. SETTING: Surgical ICU in Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center. SYSTEM CONFIGURATION: A parallel local area network was configured for the remote mobile computer system. A proprietary remote transmission system (Altair II, Motorola) was used. This high-throughput system minimizes interference and errors by using licensed, nonshared, radiofrequency spectra. CONCLUSION: The resulting mobile system is an economical and time-efficient adjunct to an established ICU computerized network and order management system. Clinical working bedside rounds are now routinely conducted with the mobile terminal, providing immediate access to full network resources.
This paper describes a teleradiology system developed to provide services over a heterogeneous networks environment. The system can transfer radiology images and provide real-time consultations and diagnostics over the telephone, Integrated Service Digital Network (ISDN), as well as a generic hospital network. The network incorporates Ethernet Local Area Network (LAN), ATM switches, and an IP router. The Java Language is used in developing this system. This teleradiology system is flexible, effective, and provides for high performance for end users. The system has been tested over all above networks and the results have shown that the system is robust and efficient.
The Token Ring Network is a Local Area Network of IBM. It is a very helpful tool for modulating working processes by personal computers. The Token Ring is a network of the third generation and constructed like a star net. The blood bank of the Medical University of Hannover (MHH) is using the Token Ring for the administration of blood storage and donors. Medical data of foreign laboratories are transmitted into the blood bank computer. During the last year, we had no difficulties working with this software tool in response time and data security and it seemed to us a very cheap opportunity for data integration and data collection on decentralized systems.