Re: obvious solution ...
Here's how it works: patient details on central booking system and RIS (Radiology Information System), patient arrives and is booked as 'attended', patient demographic data sent to radiology modality (CT, MRI, CR, DX &c. on the 'worklist'). Patient goes to be examined, radiographer picked patient from worklist - this ensures all patient demographic details are correctly added to image files.
Images taken, sent to PACS (Picture Archival Communication System) and (possibly) a local workstation. Images then available for reporting on workstations and use for physicians/surgeons.
An MRI study may be a GB or two, a CT can easily be 5GB to 10GB. So no, sneakernet or USB is a bloody silly idea; it would introduce huge delays in getting demographic data to modality and even bigger delays in exporting images. We'd need to find ten times as many scanners and staff to run them.
Let's be clear, when someone has their head hanging off in A&E, you really do't want to be pratting around manhandling data for an hour before the traumatologist gets to see it. Neither do you want to introduce the high risk of sawing the wrong leg off by manually inputting data with no verification.
In addition, manufacturers have restricted access via N3 for service and QA purposes, kill that and you'd increase downtime and, of course, waiting list delays.
A gigabit dedicated filter upstream of each modality might work, you'd only need to open it to maybe 3 ports. (Dicom Q/R and RIS, plus some more secure way for service access).
I can remember delays of a couple of years before FDA approval came through to upgrade CR readers from XP to Vista - and that's only 3 or 4 years back (and I think they are still on Vista) - similarly approval to put antivirus on.
Right now, there are still a load of dedicated modality (£50K+) workstations running XP from manufacturers that I can (but shouldn't) name. Plenty of others have shifted to Red Htt, however.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
