D ESPITE 2 DECADES of optimistic and confident predictions that filmless radiology was imminent, the centennial commemoration of Wilhelm Roentgen's discovery of the x-ray will come and go this year with only a small number of radiology departments interpreting more than a small fraction of imaging studies using a computer workstation. The reasons for this undoubtedly representa combination of economic constraints, concerns about image quality and time required for image interpretation, and the inertia that must be overcome with any paradigm shift as great as is required to abandon film for the largely uncharted waters of digital imaging.The combination of construction Ÿ associated with the Veterans Administration's (VA's) new high-tech showcase, exhaustive investigation into quality and productivity issues associated with digital imaging, a great deal of energy and enthusiasm, and perhaps a bit of naivet› resulted in the decision to pursue filmless operation at the Baltimore VA Medical Center.The anticipated advantages of the picture archiving and communication system (PACS) included better image management with fewer lost and unread studies, the use of computer enhancement to produce consistently higherquality images, the ability to provide real-time image interpretation, easier access to images for clinicians and radiologists, reduced average radiation doses, and teleradiology. These anticipated advantages, for the most part, have indeed been realized now that the system has been in routine operation for approximately 2 years with one year of near-filmless operation. Workstations located throughout the hospital have access to all images stored in both shortterm and long-term (optical jukebox) archives. Modalities interfaced to our commercial PACS include computed radiography, digital angiography, the cardiac catheterization laboratory, digital fluoroscopy, ultrasound, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging, and nuclear medicine. Mammograms are currently produced using conventional film/screen technology and subsequently digitized into the PACS. The mammographers interpret the images from film rather than using the computer workstation because of the spatial resolution limitations of non-film-based technologies currently available for mammography. Nonradiology images from such diverse sources as dermatology, pathology, endoscopy, bronchoscopy, and intraoperative photographs are acquired, archived, and displayed using a separate PACS developed by the VA as part of the hospital information system (HIS). Al1 of the radiology/ nuclear medicine images in the commercial system are also archived and can be retrieved using this second PACS.The workstations in the radiology department use a Macintosh II or Quadra 950 system with four (2,048 x 1,536-pixel) monitors. Workstations throughout the remainder of the medical center are in a two-monitor (1,152 x 1,078-pixel) configuration and use the Quadra 950 computer. The average brightness of the 2,048 x 1,536-pixel monitors is approximately 50 foot-lamberts and...
A new optically pumped polarized H− ion source (OPPIS) was developed for the RHIC polarization program and successfully used for the first polarized beam commissioning at RHIC. The OPPIS produces in excess of 1.0 mA H− ion current at about 80% polarization. An ECR primary proton source development and a new 29 GHz microwave power supply are described. A new type sodium-jet ionizer cell is biased to −32 kV to produce a 35 keV polarized beam ready for injection to the RFQ. Higher current and higher polarization were also obtained with the biased jet-cell in comparison with an old oven-type ionizer cell.
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