Disruptive technologies such as open-source software and collaborative social networks will have a major impact on image communication, PACS, and teleradiology, according to an article published in the June issue of the European Journal of Radiology.
Open-source software tools are emerging as an attractive and cost-effective alternative to commercial offerings, while social networks will slowly change the way physicians, healthcare providers, and even patients interact and communicate, according to a research team led by Dr. Osman Ratib of the University Hospital of Geneva in Switzerland.
Now breaking out into the commercial world and into vertical markets such as medical applications, open-source software is particularly promising in advanced display and analysis applications where the rapid increase in demand can't be matched by traditional commercial software, according to the authors (Eur J Radiol, Vol. 78:2, pp. 259-265).
"To allow radiologists and clinicians to conveniently and efficiently interpret these large exams, traditional image viewers have to be redesigned and adapted to a new paradigm of multidimensional image navigation, visualization, and manipulation," the authors wrote. "By combining multiple new technologies and open-source projects it is today possible to develop a new generation of high-performance 3D and 4D visualization tools that were traditionally only accessible on expensive commercial workstations restricting their use to specialist radiologists."
The development of commercial software by medical imaging firms lags behind the increasing demand for advanced processing tools, as they usually proceed through research and clinical validation before release. As a result, open-source software can provide a cost-effective alternative since they're being developed by a community of developers from the field, according to the study team.
"Also open source have less restrictions on providing new innovative and challenging viewing and analysis tools that respond to users demands even before industry and commercial vendors identify these new trends as potential source of revenue," the authors wrote.
While open-source software challenges the established medical imaging market, it also raises the question of the integrity and quality assurance of software that's developed by a user community, and doesn't follow the traditional conformance and certification required for commercial medical software programs. On the other hand, this approach is compelling, since the software is developed by the users themselves and thus is better suited for their specific needs, the authors contend.
A list of current open-source projects in imaging can be found here. The authors also pointed to the success of the OsiriX image analysis and viewing software, developed at the University of Geneva. As of the article submission, OsiriX had an estimated 45,000 active users, who correspond with the software's developers on a regular basis.
Social networking
One of many consumer technologies such as blogs, SMS, and wikis to penetrate the corporate world, social networking is moving into the mainstream. Many of these services are free for members, with revenue being generated via advertising or charging outside businesses for access to data and member discussions, according to the researchers. Some new professional businesses, such as Sermo, are offering similar services for paying registered members, limiting access to identified professional groups.
Some professional services, such as Wuala, are now specializing in storage and sharing of very large data files. Similar services will soon emerge that provide more efficient alternatives for exchanging large medical image files, according to the authors.
The ability of these services to provide better management of medical images and compliance with Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) profiles will also bring more appropriate solutions for the specific needs of the medical community and ensure better interoperability, the authors wrote. A customized approach will be required to penetrate vertical markets such as medical imaging.
"With the additional challenge of managing very large datasets, online services adapted to medical imaging will have to adopt new innovative technology to overcome the current limitations of network bandwidth," the authors concluded. "What seems today as an impossible dream will soon become our everyday reality allowing users to exchange large data sets in a secure and convenient way that does not require expensive and complex IT infrastructure."
