超音波影像儲傳系統

ULTRASOUND IMAGE ARCHIVING AND COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

台中榮民總醫院於1992年開始研設影像儲傳系統（PACS）。1993年，成功地完成急診部電腦斷層攝影（CT）的影像截取與傳輸系統（ICCS）。隨後，將此系統延伸至住院患者的CT，超音波等影像，以促成全院完整的PACS；超音波PACS為其中之一部份。從超音波儀取得的類比（analog）訊號，先轉換為數位（digital）訊號，再傳輸進入PACS；此為超音波截像系統（UIAS）。UIAS由3部超音波儀、3部影像收集用個人電腦（PC）、網路系統、影像儲存設施與IBM主機系統作業平台的匣通道（gateway）構成。其影像傳輸後之品質，深獲醫護人員的支持與肯定。其實U1AS不但可連接超音波影像系統，亦可適用於各種醫學影像之儀器；而在正常的運作中，超音波檢查員亦不必為了影像的傳輸，而中斷檢查過程。在過去3年來的臨床試用中，我們發現此系統非常可靠而穩定。話講回來，在現階段的電影式實時間影像之呈現，仍是尚待解決的問題。

Taichung Veterans General Hospital has started to design the picture archiving and communication system (PACS) since 1992. The primitive emergency computed tomography (CT) image capturing and communication system (ICCS) was successfully implemented in 1993. We further expanded this system to the inpatient CT, ultrasound and computed radiography, in order to accomplish a hospital-wide full PACS. The ultrasound picture and communication system is a part of this works. The image signals obtained from currently used ultrasound modalities are analog in nature. They need to he digitized and to be transferred to a PACS. We describe here an ultrasound image-acquisition system (UIAS) used in our hospital to transfer inpatient and emergency service ultrasound images to the PACS. This system integrates three ultrasound scanners (two for inpatient service and one for emergency service), three acquisition personal computers, network systems, an image storage device, and a gateway to the radiology information system on the IBM main-frame platform. The ultrasound images are digitized through an image grabbing board and then stored in the file server after transferring the demographic data from the hospital information system. The quality of digital images, which are supported by the 740×580 spatial resolution and 8-bit gray level of the standard BMP image format, is acceptable by clinicians The UIAS can be used to connect not only to US scanners but also to other medical image equipment. Image capture is performed by the ultrasonographer without interruption of the regular procedure. After a three-year trial, the performance of the system has been found to be stable and reliable. However, the cinematic real-time display remains a problem and its resolution a challenge.