Archive notice: This article was originally published on March 12, 2008. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
These systems were developed specifically for medical imaging applications and are used mainly in hospitals and radiology practices.
“The new Rimage MDS 5300Nx and 5100Nx product series combines fully automated, individual production of DVDs and Blu-ray (BD) media with the characteristics of a high-performance RAID 5 server and archiving system with 1.5 terabytes of storage capacity,” says Johan Lahousse, Medical Market Manager at Rimage Europe, commenting on the announcement. “In addition to producing patient CDs and archiving image data after treatment has been completed, the system can therefore also provide online storage of image data during treatment and function as an application server.”
An additional external PC is unnecessary, significantly reducing space requirements and system administration effort. Integrating a RAID 5 system into a DVD/BD production system therefore provides an ideal solution for smaller clinics, specialist departments and specialist medical practices.
With their high storage capacity, fault tolerance and small dimensions, the MDS 5100Nx and 5300Nx systems provide a suitable platform for all mini-PACS applications (Picture Archiving and Communication Systems), including cardio-PACS, ortho-PACS and other medical workstation applications installed directly on the system.
Image data sent by different modalities is stored centrally, and the radiologist can personalise it and produce the required number of DVDs or BDs with a mouse click. Rimage MDS systems can also be integrated into existing PACS systems, providing additional security and expanded redundancy in the event of system problems or hard-drive failures.
Rimage systems are now used in medical applications worldwide, where they provide reliable data archiving and further processing as well as substantial cost savings. Replacing film with optical media typically saves between five and eight euros per patient and examination, since CD production costs less and up to 1,500 images can be stored on a disc in their original format. Well-known manufacturers of medical imaging and image-processing systems have already integrated Rimage products for data output as an industry standard. Rimage systems can be connected quickly and easily to existing PACS installations.
Increasing digitisation in medical technology is generating ever larger amounts of data, particularly with imaging procedures such as X-rays, magnetic resonance imaging or mammography. Rimage systems can output these results onto optical media and simultaneously print all relevant patient information permanently onto the discs. This makes it possible to create individualised, compact data sets that can be stored easily, inexpensively and securely and are available at any time to the medical team as well as to the patient.
