MAY 4--Amicas Inc. (Newton, MA; www.amicas.com) has introduced an imaging system that the company claims makes the common Picture Archiving and Communications Systems (PACS) obsolete and provides an improved method for the diagnostic imaging industry. The new imaging system comprises a personal viewer, a diagnostic workstation, a service monitor, and integration with voice recognition and electronic medical records and reports.
Hamid Tabatabaie, Amicas president and chief executive officer, says, "We have moved the industry beyond PACS. Whether it's a single radiologist or a network of 4000 physicians, our users can now securely and conveniently access images and reports to deliver the best care to their patients, even over slow modem lines. A manual film-based system is costing hospitals from $12 to $25 per exam. The Amicas system, when loaded with infrastructure and professional services costs, approaches just $6 per exam."
John Quinn, principal within the health/managed care practice at Cap Gemini Ernst & Young US LLC, adds, "A long list of vendors has been providing imaging solutions for over a decade. The significance of the Amicas system is that one vendor using standards-based technology components is delivering full functionality at affordable price points."
Dr. Matthew Barish, vice chairman of the Boston Medical Center radiology department, comments, "The Amicas platform is more functional than traditional PACS and more cost-effective."
The Amicas diagnostic workstation, developed collaboratively with eFilm, is web and DICOM compatible with a JPEG-2000-compliant archive. It demonstrates one-click, instantaneous, and simultaneous access to prior patient images and reports; makes the "pre-fetching"PACS technique obsolete; and integrates voice recognition technology for transcribing and accessing radiologists reports.
