Teleconsultation via a wide area network in real time and by electronic mail

Zhimei Jiang; John T. Chao; Woodrew Chao; Kevin Chang; Bruce Kuo Ting Ho

doi:10.1117/12.208811

Abstract

A teleradiology system is severely limited in bandwidth compared to a departmental PACS. Therefore it must depend on innovative tools to allow efficient communication between the subspecialty radiologist and the referring physician at a remote site. Real time teleconsultation allows two parties to converse while viewing identical images and performing same image processing functions on them. By using an efficient protocol, the framing information for synchronizing the cursor, image layout and image processing functions can be transmitted with subsecond delay over a narrow bandwidth wide area network. For situations involving large time zone differences, an asynchronous communication using electronic mail may be appropriate. In this case, the synchronization of cursor motion and voice is preserved by the time-stamps in electronic mail messages. Multimedia capabilities including digitized voice, report formatting and electronic mailing must be integrated into a single application software that is easy to use by radiologists participating in the consultation session. Real time interaction can be implemented easily using standard modem connections. The protocol ensures that only key information for synchronization is sent to the other station in order to achieve the high speed required. Electronic mail and report formatting capabilities are integrated by using off-the-shelf multimedia software libraries. The system we are developing is on the Windows NT environment using Microsoft Foundation Classes. The same idea is applicable to the UNIX system as well. This paper shows that the real time and asynchronous teleconsultation can be achieved using standard computer hardware, software, and software development tools.

Citation Download Citation

Zhimei Jiang, Zhimei Jiang, John T. Chao, John T. Chao, Woodrew Chao, Woodrew Chao, Kevin Chang, Kevin Chang, Bruce Kuo Ting Ho, Bruce Kuo Ting Ho, } "Teleconsultation via a wide area network in real time and by electronic mail", Proc. SPIE 2435, Medical Imaging 1995: PACS Design and Evaluation: Engineering and Clinical Issues, (12 May 1995); doi: 10.1117/12.208811; https://doi.org/10.1117/12.208811

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

PERSONAL SIGN IN
Full access may be available with your subscription

Email or Username Forgot your username?

Password Forgot your password?

Show

Remember Email/Username on this computer

Remember Password

No SPIE account? Create an account
or Institutional Sign In via Shibboleth

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available

Members: $14.40

Non-members: $18.00 ADD TO CART

Show All Keywords

Keywords/Phrases

Search In:

Publication Years