. A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W
Microsoft defines Microsoft .NET as a set of Microsoft software technologies for connecting information, people, systems, and devices. To optimize software integration, the .NET Framework uses small, discrete, building-block applications called web services that connect to each other as well as to other, larger applications over the Internet.
A unique ID or job number that is generated by the hospital RIS and is used for tracking each exam and its corresponding patient name, date, and exam type.
Any station that sends images to IMPAX. A station must be defined as an acquisition station in the Source Manager if the station is sending original acquisition images or third-party images into the IMPAX system.
The highlighted series. Click a series to make it the active series.
Administration Tools control the configuration and management of the entire IMPAX cluster. The Administration Tools are a Java-based application that run in a web browser.
Admission, Discharge, Transfer. An ADT message contains patient demographic and visit information that is stored by a HIS or RIS.
Application Entity. In DICOM, the AEs are different stations in the enterprise that communicate with one other. Each requires a unique identifier known as the AE title.
Application Entity title of a DICOM station. This is a unique identifier within the network, assigned to the station.
Application Programming Interface. The interface or conventions by which an application program accesses the operating system and other services.
A physical device or a file system used for long-term storage and retrieval of studies.
The IMPAX server that manages the archive. The Archive Server handles requests to store studies to the archive and to retrieve studies from the archive. The Archive Server stores studies in its cache before archiving them to long-term storage.
Authenticated Simple Partial File Transfer Protocol. A secure version of the SPFTP protocol.
Service that removes old and expired data when the cache starts to get full. This maintenance function keeps the database to a manageable size.
Audio Video Interleaved. An AVI file is a sound and motion picture file.
Divides the body into cranial (upper) and caudal (lower) transverse segments. The axial or transverse plane is perpendicular (orthogonal) to the sagittal and coronal planes.
Bitmap file. Graphics file that renders images by arranging pixels in a bitmapped pattern.
Software that allows a user to search through information on a server. The term usually refers to a universal client application, such as Firefox or MS Internet Explorer, that interprets HTML documents.
The data pipelines that IMPAX Clients use to get PACS information. The Business Services reside on the IMPAX Application Server or Servers.
Temporary storage area for data on a computer’s local or external hard drives.
Computer-aided detection structured report, which can be viewed as an overlay on mammography studies. CAD SR markers are used to indicate areas of concern, such as dense regions and clusters of bright spots suggestive of calcification on mammography studies.
Chinese-Japanese-Korean-Thai. Refers to support for multibyte character sets.
Command Line User Interface. A command-line tool to help in the service of IMPAX MVF. CLUI allows you to execute SQL statements.
A networking solution combining two or more otherwise independent computers, enabling them to work together in managing hospital data.
Consists of a screen format, a strict hanging protocol, and the placement of both current and prior studies to properly display mammography studies. Multiple modes can be grouped together in a viewing sequence.
Section of the IMPAX Client used by PACS Administrators to set up roles and users, define printers, configure stations, and set certain preferences.
A middleware component in the integration between hospital information systems and other hospital imaging departments. Connectivity Manager also provides connectivity to each modality and the PACS.
In the navigation pane of the Configure area - Stations section, containers hold station containers. Much like a file folder, containers organize station containers into logical groupings. The container itself cannot be configured. Note that containers are surrounded by [square brackets].
Two or more series that are parallel, or in the same plane, are coplanar.
Divides the body into anterior and posterior (front and back) segments. The coronal or frontal plane is perpendicular (orthogonal) to the sagittal and axial planes.
Curator is an IMPAX MVF server component. It is responsible for compressing incoming images into the Mitra Wavelet format and storing them in the web cache. These studies can be accessed by remote or local clients.
From the List area, you cycle an entire worklist or specific studies. When cycling, studies are placed in the Cycle List in the Image area. The Cycle List is a stack of “things to do”, analogous to film jackets. Normally, if you are cycling a worklist, when you finish interpreting a study, IMPAX moves automatically to the next study in the list. The study's images open in the Image area and its information appears in the Text area.
Information about a patient, including name, age, address, type of study they had performed, and so on.
Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine. The standard communication protocol used by a PACS, HIS, or modality to exchange information or images with other systems.
Digital Linear Tape. A half-inch format used for archiving. Each carrier is two-sided; each side is considered to be a separate volume. These tapes have one spindle in the cartridge, as opposed to other types of tapes (for example, VHS) that have two. The tape unwinds into the drive and must be completely wound back into the DLT cartridge before it can be unloaded.
Enterprise ID. An ID that uniquely identifies a patient across the enterprise, no matter what the scope of the enterprise is (facility, multi-facility regional, multifacility national, and so on). Equivalent to GPI.
Electronic Patient Record. The combination of all available medical data about a patient, made available in computerized form. Electronic patient records are generally part of a health information system that allows for storage, retrieval, and modification of records.
Estimated Radiographic Magnification Factor. It can be applied to images from modalities such as XA and RF that generate images by projecting radiation from a single point source through the body then onto a detector (such as film). The ERMF is the ratio of the distance between radiation source and detector to the distance between radiation source and patient.
The full name of a system, consisting of its local host name and its domain name, including a top-level domain. For example, venera is a host name and venera.isi.edu is a fully qualified domain name. A fully qualified domain name should be sufficient to determine a unique Internet address for any host on the Internet. This process, called name resolution, uses the Domain Name System (DNS).
A series description generated automatically by IMPAX based on information from the modality.
Global Patient Identifier. An ID that uniquely identifies a patient across the enterprise, no matter what the scope of the enterprise is (facility, multi-facility regional, multi-facility national, and so on). Equivalent to EID (enterprise ID).
Grayscale Softcopy Presentation State Storage. A set of display options that can be associated with images from certain modalities.
Determines the series order displayed on screen for all modalities. The order in which a modality generates series within an exam may not match the order in which a radiologist prefers to view them. Hanging protocols reorder the series based on the series_description field.
A device that attaches to a computer to control access to a particular application. Dongles provide the most effective means of copy protection. Typically, the dongle attaches to a PC’s USB port.
Part of an image file that contains textual information about the image, as opposed to the pixel data that makes up the image itself.
Hospital Information System. The database used by a hospital to manage patient information and scheduling.
An option that forces the PACS to verify all incoming images from an acquisition station or modality against specific criteria, such as the patient ID and accession number. The PACS sends a message through the RIS Gateway to verify the criteria against what is contained in the HIS. If the criteria match, then the images can be stored permanently.
Stands for Health Level 7, a standard communication protocol used for the transmission of medical information. HL7 is used primarily by HIS systems and does not support transmission of images.
Defines when orders for scheduled studies are sent from the RIS or connectivity component to another system, such as a modality, in the Radiology department. Generally, the horizon value is defined as “hours before” the scheduled start time.
A Hounsfield Unit (HU) is an X-ray attenuation (density) measurement used to describe voxel values in CT scanning. In a 12-bit CT image, the voxel values range from -1024 to +3071 HU. For example, water is defined as 0 HU, air as -1024 HU, fat as -100 to -20 HU, soft tissue as +20 to +80 HU, and bone as > +500 HU. A Hounsfield Unit does not change no matter how the image is displayed, since HU is calculated based on original pixel data.
Represent Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Thai words using pictographic characters, as opposed to alphabetic or phonetic characters.
A single frame taken by a modality. Certain modalities, such as a CT, MRI, or PET, take consecutive sets of images called series. Studies are combinations of series or images for a single patient.
Computer input device that includes programmable buttons and a knob used for frame-by-frame navigation.
Graphics file format that uses a lossy compression scheme. JPEG was defined as a universal standard for the digital compression and decompression of still images for use in computer systems.
Shortcuts for clinicians, and other radiologists, to the most clinically relevant images in a study. Key images appear in the Key Images area, under the Report bar in the Text area. Key images are links to images or frames in the source study.
Descriptive words or phrases that describe either a portion of the study or the entire study.
Lightweight Directory Access Protocol, the technology for storing user names and IDs, passwords, and user-related preferences. This information is stored in an LDAP depository.
IMPAX Client licenses define which IMPAX features users in a role can be given permission to access. They include standard and optional features. IMPAX Client license files are installed on Application Servers and are assigned to roles.
A compression algorithm in which all data that was originally part of the file is retained when the file is uncompressed.
Reduces file size by permanently deleting some information, which results in a slight reduction of image quality. When the file is uncompressed, some original information is missing; however, the loss of information is minimal and is not noticeable to most users.
Look Up Table, a set of predefined values used to translate data properly for printing, display, and so on. For example, the Modality Presentation LUT applies values to images when they are displayed so that the images are correctly translated to the screen.
Maximum Intensity Projection. Refers to a projection of the 3D object that shows the tissues of highest density.
An imaging discipline, such as CT, or a device that gathers digital information, such as digitizers for X-ray film, MRI scanners, and CR devices.
Cross-sectional modalities like CT and MR and project radiography modalities like CR, DX, MG, RF, and XA produce images that often include a DICOM pixel spacing attribute. This attribute can be used to calibrate measurements if user image calibration is not in effect. No suffix is applied to the measurement when modality calibration is applied.
Modality Performed Procedure Step. MPPS is a mechanism used by modalities to report the status of an acquisition. MPPS messages indicate whether the acquisition (or study) is in progress, completed, or canceled.
An image that contains multiple frames, such as ultrasound and, in some cases, MR images.
The inheritance of preferences by roles and users in the hierarchy can be merged or non-merged. Non-merged preferences start from the bottom-most level and use the first set of preferences found. Merged preferences are summed from all levels in the role hierarchy.
The IMPAX actions allowed by a permission. For example, operations include dictation, printing to paper, and executing SQL statements through CLUI. You can further refine some operations by setting a study status flag on the operation. For example, you can allow printing only on dictated studies.
Label for a version of a study image that has not been compressed to wavelet or lossy JPEG format.
A Picture Archive and Communication Systems (PACS) makes it possible to electronically store, manage, distribute, and view images.
A hospital-wide unique identifier for a patient. Also called a Medical Record Number (MRN).
Represent Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Thai words as they would be spoken, as opposed to using ideographic or pictographic characters.
The smallest resolvable rectangular area of an image, either on a screen or stored in memory. Each pixel in a monochrome image has its own brightness, from 0 for black to the maximum value (such as 255) for white. In a color image, each pixel has its own brightness and color, usually represented as a triple of red, green, and blue (RGB) intensities.
The purpose of a print preset is to optimize the printed images for display on a light box. It includes selected print properties along with other values, such as orientation, density, and borders.
An exam for the patient that was conducted previously. Radiologists often compare the most current exam with a prior.
Physician who sent the patient for the exam.
Radiology Information System. Responsible for scheduling exams and for report management in the Radiology department.
A collection of users or other roles that holds IMPAX Client permissions and preferences as well as licensing options. For example, a role can represent the enterprise, the institution, a department, or a team.
A daily, weekly, biweekly, or monthly meeting in which radiologists and clinicians gather to discuss a particular type of exam, or a particular part of the body, for their patients. Radiologists use scheduled worklists to facilitate the review of patients during a round.
Divides the body into left and right segments. The sagittal plane is perpendicular (orthogonal) to the axial and coronal planes.
A worklist that you can set to occur on specific days, that holds the studies for a round, clinic, or conference. You can prepare for a round by taking snapshots of study layouts with the Snapshot tool and saving the snapshots in a scheduled worklist.
Shows from where and at what angle the intersectional images were taken in CT and MR studies.
Defines how images of a patient are to be arranged and displayed on-screen. A screen format consists of three components: number of studies, number of series, and number of images to display, each specified in terms of rows and columns. A few screen formats also have a fourth component that defines which monitor the format applies to.
A set of consecutive images taken by a modality such as a CT, MRI, or PET. One study can consist of several series.
Period of time starting when a user logs into the IMPAX Client and ending when that same user logs out.
A single-byte character set (SBCS) is a mapping of 256 individual characters to their identifying code values, using one byte for each graphic character. Can be used to render Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Thai words.
A type of resource, referring to the overall hospital facility that houses departments, locations, specialties, and stations.
Type of resource. A station resource is a real world device on the PACS network, such as a modality or PACS.
In the navigation pane of the Configure area - Stations section, the station containers are like folders that organize groups of stations. You can set configuration options for the station containers, and all stations within that container inherit those configuration options.
Within the context of the IMPAX Client configuration interface, refers to a computer that has the IMPAX Client installed. Stations can be in a radiology reading room, in the offices of clinicians, or in the homes of radiologists, for example. When a user logs into IMPAX for the first time, the computer name is listed in the navigation pane of the Configure area - Stations section. Stations are organized under station containers. You can set configuration options, such as diagnostic monitor settings, memory usage, and so on, for a specific station, or the station can inherit its configuration from the station container.
In the Configure area - Stations section, you can combine multiple image storage points (caches) into a single storage group. For example, if you have three storage points—CACHE1, CACHE2, and CACHE3—you can combine all of them into one storage group called Radimage. Then, you can have all access to the image caches in that storage group flow through a load balancer, for example.
Image storage points are the image caches in the cluster. Storage points are identified by AE title in the Administration Tools using the Cache Manager.
A collection of one or more series of medical images used to diagnose a patient. Images in a study are usually from a single modality, but can also be from multiple modalities.
The second portion of a study-based permission. The rules limit what groups of studies the permission applies to. For example, you can set study access rules to apply a permission to all studies from a specific modality, or to allow clinicians to view only the studies they referred.
A sampling of images from several studies that best represent or summarize all of the studies.
Teaching files are anonymous copies of images from original studies. You can view and create them under the Teaching Files tab in the Study List of the Text area. Teaching files let a radiology department organize studies for special purposes, such as teaching residents and providing examples of poor image quality.
Unique identifier. Typically a number in a format such as 1.2.124.113532.10.237.231.55.20090421.215102.1080.
Studies are unverified if the information assigned to them at the modality does not match the order information from the RIS. Studies must be verified before they are stored in the PACS.
Users represent individuals, such as a radiologist or a clinician. Each user must belong to at least one primary role. A user can also belong to other secondary roles. Users inherit permissions, licenses, and preferences from their role.
Visual Basic .NET (VB.NET) is a version of Microsoft’s Visual Basic programming language. It is part of the company’s .NET product group, designed to make Web services applications easier to develop. VB.NET is the first fully object-oriented programming (OOP) version of Visual Basic.
Compression method using a proprietary compression algorithm that can be uncompressed only by systems that support that proprietary algorithm.
Wizards are used to automate processes. Wizards perform a predetermined sequence of actions after they are selected and applied.
A collection of patients and their studies. For radiologists, the worklist is analogous to a pile of film jackets. They use the worklist to know which studies they must interpret during a specific time period. For technologists, a worklist is a list of the studies they must perform at specific times for each patient.