JiveX DICOM Platform

Integration Platform for Management of All Images in the Hospital

In hospitals, a variety of information systems and, in turn, various platforms are in use via which data is communicated, displayed, and stored (HIS, EMR, PACS, DMS). Modern image management is therefore extremely comprehensive and complex. Today, in addition to image data, bio signals, photographs, and videos need to be integrated, irrespective of whether they are provided in DICOM or NON-DICOM format. This includes, besides Radiology, also all other clinical departments, such as Endoscopy, Sonography, ECG, and Wound Documentation. In those fields, data is generated in image or document formats such as JPEG or PDF. In order to allow for the integration into clinical routine, a unified basis is required.

A comprehensive management platform for all image-related processes in the hospital, JiveX is made available by VISUS. The consistent application of the DICOM standard and the realization of the IHE profiles provide the basis. For more than ten years, VISUS has been committed in the context of cross-departmental image-based processes in the hospital. Furthermore, the company has extensive expertise concerning the integration into clinical workflows. From its inception, VISUS has shown its commitment in standardization projects related to DICOM and to the initiative Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE).

Communication of all Image Data across Systems

With JiveX, VISUS focuses on image, video, as well as bio signal data, and in particular, it won´t stop at department boundaries. This is how the system offers users the opportunity to optimize campus-wide workflows. The efficiency potentials are found primarily in the management and optimization of workflows in the context of reading/reporting and image distribution. Hanging Protocols may serve as an example: they allow the physician, in his reading/reporting work, to arrange exams automatically on the screen, and they provide reading protocols which enable him to automatically chain steps in a workflow

In order to ensure smooth processes campus-wide, the solution platform integrates into the processes of the hospital information system (HIS), and it also integrates dedicated systems for reading/reporting. In this context, communication is based on standards (such as DICOM, HL7) and on the realization of IHE profiles. This safeguards cross-departmental management of processes and allows for seamless quality assurance. Thanks to the JiveX platform, VISUS also offers a campus-wide DICOM Worklist also for all
departments and function wards in addition to Radiology.

Unified Viewer for all Image Data

By integrating dedicated reading/reporting systems, JiveX covers all of imaging for an entire healthcare organization. In this context, it is of no importance whether the data is available in DICOM format or not. In the latter case, the data is imported via a special module and stored as DICOM data. Furthermore, the modalities from all usual manufacturers in the market can be integrated.

JiveX concentrates on all image-based processes. No matter from which sources the image data originates, VISUS offers a unified viewer across systems. This makes the image management platform a central access point to all image data in the clinical workflow. JiveX is integrated into the HIS via a call interface and allows users transparent access to all information via one graphic user interface. Based on the unified viewer which is easy to handle, secure portal solutions can be built easily.

Sample Process outside Radiology

Effectiveness results from the interplay of all relevant information systems in a healthcare organization. A ward may, e.g., create an order "sonography of the abdomen" in the HIS. In order to ensure processing in compliance with standards, the order is communicated as an ORM message, and the PACS will create, via the DICOM Worklist Broker, a worklist for the sonography device. Simultaneously, the process is scheduled in the service facility management of the HIS Subsequent to the exam, the service rendered is entered automatically, and the relevant image and video material is handed over to the PACS. The Study Verification Manager attributes current data about the pertinent patient. The system confirms this to the HIS via an HL7 message. The newly added exam data is now available for retrieval directly from the HIS.

During reading/reporting, the physician can retrieve and view the images from the HIS or the electronic medical record (EMR). The linking of the patient to the images is safeguarded via the unique order number. Thanks to the viewer displaying all images, the physician can access directly any existing information from the patient record - e.g. ECG, Endoscopy, CT - and consult that information for the definition of the subsequent treatment strategy. When reading/reporting or writing the physician´s letter, the physician simply copies the relevant images from the viewer directly into his report. Subsequently he prints the complete report on paper, including the images. Simultaneously, these documents can be printed automatically as PDF files to the JiveX PACS and put into that system. A gateway dedicated to that purpose ensures that the documents are archived together with the right patient and process. An HL7 message sent to the HIS safeguards that access to the documents remains possible from the electronic medical record.

Flexible Archiving of all Image Data

JiveX does not only integrate modalities and image data in a vendor-neutral manner, it also carries out central archiving of all the above-mentioned data in DICOM format. Through decades, DICOM has established itself as the standard in medical image data communication and archiving. It has been defined for a variety of modalities and formats, and is being extended continuously. On this basis, images from image sources such as slit lamps - one of the most important devices in ophthalmology - can be integrated into the campus-wide workflow.

Using JiveX, the hospital no longer needs to take care of storing the data from various dedicated systems in multiple locations; this is carried out in a consolidated way. This results in benefits regarding legal aspects, the organization, and finances. The archive is flexible and entirely adapted to the requirements of the individual customer. The options of storing and archiving data include online storage, storage area networks (SAN), network-attached storage (NAS), and directly attached hard disk systems (RAID, DAS). Of course, offline storage is also supported, on DVDs, BluRay discs, or magnetic tapes. Whatever the technical realization may be: the user is informed in a transparent manner, via status notifications, about the archiving status. Thanks to the consistency with the order confirmation from the leading information system, process quality is ensured at all levels of the image cycle.

As a separate product for long-term archiving, VISUS offers JiveX Storage Service for PACS (SSP). This service enables the customer to store data in an external archive operated by a service provider who has been contracted by VISUS. This type of data storage enables cost-optimized operation for the user. Fees are based on a pay-per-use model. No additional investments are required. There is no long-term capital commitment. Cost can be planned because there are no additional expenditures for migration, administration, or maintenance, will be incurred.