A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X
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.
In an active-active configuration, data is replicated between two data centers for disaster recovery and to improve performance.
Admission, Discharge, Transfer. An ADT message contains patient demographic and visit information that is stored by a HIS or RIS.
Application Entity title of a DICOM station. This is a unique identifier within the network, assigned to the station.
A limit set on the cache that reflects a non-critical need for additional cache space. The amber threshold represents the number of hours of cache space needed to provide an alternate backup location if studies cannot be archived.
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.
IHE name for the audit manager component.
Service that removes old and expired data when the cache starts to get full. This maintenance function keeps the database to a manageable size.
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.
Temporary storage area for data on a computer’s local or external hard drives.
Change Context (cc) objects are DICOM objects used to communicate and synchronize study metadata changes across multiple IMPAX clusters.
The mechanism by which DICOM queries are performed.
Chinese-Japanese-Korean. Refers to support for multibyte character sets.
Copies the same set of images of the performed study once to each of the scheduled studies.
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.
An operation that allows an application entity to instruct another application entity to transfer stored SOP Instances to the original application entity or to a third application entity, using the C-STORE operation.
Descriptive of a backup process in which the database has to be shut down. Compared with warm backups, cold backups take longer and prevent accessing the database while the backup is being performed.
An area in each row that stores the data value for some attribute in the table.
Reduces the size of a file to save both file space and transmission time. Lossless, lossy, and wavelet are examples of compression types.
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.
A value used to restrict a query to searching for specific data. For example, patient name.
Contains entries that specify the physical structure of the database. During normal recovery procedures, the information in a control file is used to guide the automated progression of the recovery operation.
The mechanism used to transfer SOP Instances between application entities.
The Data Center is a central hub which manages the storage and retrieval of study data needed for a large collection of hospital groups called entities, each with a local PACS infrastructure.
Stores the data in a database. A datafile can be associated with only one tablespace and only one database.
Information about a patient, including name, age, address, type of study they had performed, and so on.
Any external DICOM destination to which images are transmitted, such as a web server. This does not include printers.
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.
The DICOM validation options specify whether the selected station should verify that objects sent to the station comply strictly with the DICOM specification. If set to Warn, a warning message is logged for non-compliant objects. If set to Fail, all non-compliant objects are refused by the station.
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.
The flow of information between one system and another. For example, a new patient is admitted to the hospital, or a PACS Broker queries the database for a worklist.
On a local area network (LAN) connected to a larger network, the security system that prevents outside intrusion and that keeps internal information from getting out. Typically, all traffic must pass through the machine on which the firewall is implemented.
Grayscale Softcopy Presentation State. This applies a set of display modifications to an image (or a set of images). These modifications can include grayscale transformations, annotations, rotations, and flips. The goal of GSPS is to highlight an area of an image or to ensure that the display of an image is consistent when displayed on-screen.
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.
Part of an image file that contains textual information about the image, as opposed to the pixel data that makes up the image itself.
With a high-availability solution, a site is protected against system downtimes, either planned or unplanned. Redundant servers are put in place that can take over functionality should the primary server become unavailable.
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. This United States act includes Privacy and Security regulations to guarantee patients rights and protections against the misuse or disclosure of personally identifiable health information, referred to as Protected Health Information (PHI).
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.
The host name is a common alphanumeric alias for the IP address of a server.
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.
Hierarchical Storage Management. An HSM archive system provides long-term storage of data and access to data. Studies archived with HSM are stored to a file system. A mount point and subdirectory to store studies to is specified. The HSM system handles data storage.
Hypertext transfer protocol, a TCP-based protocol for transferring hypertext requests and information between servers and browsers.
Data center configuration that combines IMPAX Data Center components with IMPAX MVF components. DICOM and HL7 connectivity with spoke sites can be handled either by IDC or by IMPAX. Archiving is always done by IDC. Server hardware is typically cohosted between the two systems.
Intrusion Detection System, a device (or application) that monitors network or system activities for malicious activities or policy violations.
Stands for Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise. IHE is an initiative by healthcare professionals and industry to improve the way computer systems in healthcare share information. IHE promotes the coordinated use of established standards such as DICOM and HL7 to address specific clinical needs in support of optimal patient care.
Images arriving in the system and images retrieved from archive locations are stored in the image cache. These images are lossless compressed.
Hybrid data centers can be set up in an IDC Frontend or an IMPAX Frontend option. With IMPAX Frontend, the IMPAX MVF components retain DICOM and HL7 connectivity with the spokes and the IMPAX Data Center components are used for archiving.
Provides fast access to data in the rows of a table, based on key values.
The Internet Protocol address is a numeric address that identifies the station to other TCP/IP devices on the network.
The DICOM definition is identifier of the assigning authority (system, organization, agency, or department) that issued the patient ID. In practical terms, this could be the identifier for a hospital HIS system or an EMPI (PIX manager) system, for example. Often referred to simply as issuer.
Java Archive file. A package containing several files, bundled into one file for easier transmission. JAR also supports data compression. By convention, JAR files end with a .jar extension.
An object-oriented programming language.
Each time an image must be transmitted, written, or received, a job is created and sent to a job queue. The job queue is managed through the Job Manager.
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.
Key Object Selection Document. Each KOSD object is a DICOM object that represents an IHE-compliant Key Image Note. The KOSD object describes a study's key objects and the reason for their significance. The reason is specified by the document title (e.g., For Report Attachment, For Surgery) and an optional user-defined description. Each image referenced by a KOSD object may also reference a presentation state (C/GSPS) object.
Distributing processing and communications activity evenly across a computer network so that no single device is overwhelmed.
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.
Media Access Control address. The unique physical address of each device’s network interface card.
Used to classify various studies into logical groups, such as specialty, body part, and patient location. This helps manage large volumes of studies generated at the site.
Controls the operation of each instance of SQL Server. It is installed automatically with each instance of SQL Server. It keeps track of user accounts, remote user accounts, and remote servers that each instance can interact with.
Magneto-Optical Disk. Each carrier is two-sided. Each side is considered to be a separate volume.
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.
The list of studies that are scheduled for a particular modality. The technologist works from this list to minimize data entry errors and ensure data integrity. For example, a modality worklist can include the patient name, patient ID, accession number, scheduled procedure, and scheduled date and time for the study.
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.
Server configuration in which the Database is installed on a separate computer from the Archive Server. Network Gateway may be installed on yet another server, or it may be installed along with the Database or Archive Server (or both).
In a multiple IMPAX cluster configuration, an IMPAX cluster is linked to one or more other IMPAX or external PACS clusters, such that patient and study data can be shared and synchronized between them.
A process that handles store and retrieve jobs for the PACS Store and Remember archive.
On IMPAX systems, it runs on the Network Gateway.
Network Attached Storage. A storage device attached directly to a Storage Area Network (SAN) or other direct network connection.
The Network Gateway is part of the IMPAX MVF cluster. Essentially, this is the workflow manager of the IMPAX 6.0 and later system. The Network Gateway controls the studies coming into the cluster from an acquisition station, validates these incoming studies against information from the HIS or RIS, and routes the validated studies to cache or archive.
An object is usually an image, but may be a Structured Report Object or any other data object that is included as part of a study.
Optical Character Recognition is the recognition of printed or written characters by a computer. If a modality generates images into the system but not enough information about a study is sent, OCR templates read information directly from the burned demographics.
Open Database Connectivity. A standard protocol for accessing relational databases based around SQL.
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.
Order Message. Message used in general order transaction messages. For example, ORM is used in requests from a client to create an order or to cancel or hold an existing order. ORM messages originate with the HL7 client.
Observation Result, Unsolicited. Message used to transmit report (results) data. For example, a finished transcription message sent back to the client.
A Picture Archive and Communication Systems (PACS) makes it possible to electronically store, manage, distribute, and view images.
A status in the IMPAX system indicating that a study is stored on an external archive using PACS Store and Remember archiving.
A configuration in which an IMPAX system is set up as a PACS Store and Remember Archive, and used for archiving studies to an archive external to the IMPAX system.
PACS Archive Provider. A PACS Archive Provider (PAP) acts like a Service Class Provider (SCP) in that it receives studies. However, it differs from an SCP in that the PAP can automatically register a study as PACS archived if the study originates from a source that the PACS stores to and remembers from, without having to queue the study for archiving back to the source. The PAP can also parse the private tags of the incoming DICOM objects to determine HIS verification and study status.
A hospital-wide unique identifier for a patient. Also called a Medical Record Number (MRN).
Permissions define the available IMPAX features and types of studies that users in a particular role have access to. Permissions are made up of a set of operations.
A physical hardware interface for connecting external devices to a computer, or it can be understood as a software interface for network communications.
The automatic retrieval of relevant priors based on a study scheduled event (studies in the RIS that are scheduled to be performed).
An exam for the patient that was conducted previously. Radiologists often compare the most current exam with a prior.
Quality factor of lossy JPEG compression. The greater the Q Factor, the greater the image size.
Records all Oracle Server changes made to data. If a failure prevents the altered data from being permanently written to the datafiles, the changes can be obtained from the redo log and work is never lost.
A limit set on the cache that reflects a critical need for additional cache space because the cache is nearly full. Additional space is urgently required when the cache reaches the red threshold.
A collection of information organized into tables.
A relational query allows a query of all levels (patient, study, series, image) at the same time depending on the query level; for example, IMPAX could receive a series-level query with patient, study and series-level constraints.
A hierarchical query, on the other hand, is less efficient and requires multiple queries to construct the same result; for example, to perform a series-level query with patient, study and series-level constraints, a patient-level query needs to be performed first to retrieve a list of patients, then a study-level query for each specific patient, and then for each study returned, a series-level query.
An exam that was conducted for a patient before the current exam, and that has one or more characteristics that make it of interest or importance the current exam.
Any station that can be accessed over the network. A PACS, display station, HIS, RIS, or CIS are examples of remote stations. In an enterprise solution, remote stations may also be thought of as those connecting to the network through the Internet, rather than through any direct in-hospital or on-campus connections.
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.
The automation of sending images where and when they need to be viewed either within or outside the IMPAX cluster.
A rule created that tell the archive system what to route, when to route it, and where it should be routed to. Routing rules are defined in the Source Manager.
Each row in the database table represents a single occurrence in the table.
Service Class Provider. A DICOM server that receives requests from an SCU. The DICOM SCP accepts images for processing, processes find and retrieve requests, and handles storage commitment requests and replies.
Service Class User. Primarily sends DICOM requests to an SCP.
Search criteria are the individual values used in a search. For example, search criteria can be patient name or modality type.
A set of consecutive images taken by a modality such as a CT, MRI, or PET. One study can consist of several series.
A configuration in which the Database, Archive Server, and Network Gateway server components are all installed on a single server.
A type of resource, referring to the overall hospital facility that houses departments, locations, specialties, and stations.
Service Object Pair. The combination of an information object and a service (for example, store an ultrasound, query and retrieve an ultrasound).
Simple Partial File Transfer Protocol. A proprietary transport protocol for communication within the IMPAX cluster.
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.
A DICOM storage commit message that is sent after the images are sent into the PACS cluster. This message marks the end of the data transfer and is used to ensure proper auditing of images.
Also called PACS Store and Remember archiving. A configuration in which an IMPAX system is set up as a PACS Store and Remember Archive, and used for archiving studies to an archive external to the IMPAX system.
A set of SQL statements with an assigned name that is stored in the database and can be shared by a number of programs.
Used to store data in a relational database. Each table stores information about one of the types of objects modeled by the database.
A database is divided into one or more logical storage units called tablespaces. Each tablespace in a database consists of one or more files called datafiles.
A file compression format generally found on UNIX platforms.
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. The suite of protocols that defines the Internet. Available for every major operating system.
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.
Limits placed on the Archive cache to indicate when more space is needed. A red threshold indicates a critical need for more space, and an amber threshold indicates a non-critical, but growing need for additional cache space. Thresholds are set in the Autopilot Manager.
Information added to data to indicate the time at which it was collected.
A group of database operations combined into a logical unit of work.
Send studies to other stations.
The real-world healthcare event that initiates an exchange of messages or a workflow. An event in the real world of healthcare means data must flow among systems. For example, the trigger event "a patient is admitted" means data about that patient must be sent to other systems.
Transaction (tx) objects are DICOM objects used to communicate and synchronize study status changes across multiple IMPAX clusters.
Unique identifier. Typically a number in a format such as 1.2.124.113532.10.237.231.55.20090421.215102.1080.
Universal Naming Convention. A convention for identifying servers and other resources on a network. UNC uses the format \\servername\resource.
The number of seconds that have elapsed since 12:00 midnight on January 1, 1970. For example, the UNIX timestamp for 12:00 midnight on January 1, 2005 is 1104537600.
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.
A volume refers to the division of data on the media. For example, if a tape has two sides, each side is referred to as a separate volume.
Compression method using a proprietary compression algorithm that can be uncompressed only by systems that support that proprietary algorithm.
Images that have been compressed by Curator are stored in the web cache. These images are compressed using Mitra Wavelet compression to reduce their size for access over low bandwidth.
Represents unknown information in a search criteria; for example, the asterisk (*) to substitute for any number of characters or the question mark (?) to substitute for a single character. Use the wildcard when you are unsure of spelling or you remember only part of a word or number.
XDS is the acronym for Cross-Enterprise Document Sharing. XDS is the current IHE standard for exchanging clinical data across enterprises. XDS provides a centralized method of indexing documents.