Wireless Transmission of Digital Radiography Images to PACS Enhances Portable Radiography Workflow

Researchers evaluated the workflow and performance of the DDR and CR systems by timing and evaluating transmission of chest X-ray examinations to a PACS.

The study was carried out at the Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital (HKSH; Happy Valley, Hong Kong), and published in the January 6, 2015, issue of the Journal of Digital Imaging. The study was carried out by Dr. Tsx-Lung Ngan and colleagues from the HKSH.


The study compared the time it took the hospital Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) console to retrieve the modality worklist and images from a new portable Direct Digital Radiography system (DDR), using the hospital Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), to a standard portable Computed Radiography (CR) system.

The results showed that the PACS was able to retrieve images from the new DDR system 70% faster than from the conventional portable CR system, and that the new system reduced the complexity of the image acquisition workflow. The time it took for images to reach the PACS was 6.8 minutes (± 2.6 minutes) for the DDR system and 23 minutes (± 10.2 minutes).

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Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital