ClearCanvas 2.0 : Preview

I got my hands on the daily build of the next version of ClearCanvas which is due to be released early next year. The main feature I was after was scheduled auto routing.

Please note:
This preview is of a pre-release version of ClearCanvas, it is not to be used in production.

Scheduled Auto-Routing:
You can now auto forward images at certain non-peak times to a central archive to reduce bandwidth usage during the day.

Admin Dashboard:
The new admin dashboard in the ClearCanvas 2.0 pre-release looks very impressive. It gives an administrator a nice snapshot of what is happening on the server with information such as server disk utilization, duplicate studies, latest log entries, etc. This is a very useful feature that will greatly assist administration of the server. I do however wish they had a big red icon displayed when the ClearCanvas Image service is no longer running on the machine.

You can get the pre-release from the ClearCanvas website: www.clearcanvas.ca 

The features above are major improvements in functionality for my environment and once this release becomes available in a stable form, I am going to implement it for one of our new departments for active daily use.

ClearCanvas: First Open Source ISO 13485:2003 Certified PACS/RIS

ClearCanvas PACS/RIS open source Radiology software is now ISO 13485:2003 certified. The ISO 13485:2003 certification specifies as per their website:

“ISO 13485:2003 specifies requirements for a quality management system where an organization needs to demonstrate its ability to provide medical devices and related services that consistently meet customer requirements and regulatory requirements applicable to medical devices and related services.”

source: http://www.iso.org/iso/catalogue_detail?csnumber=36786

As per ClearCanvas’ press release on their website they are also going to strive for further certification to allow their products to be used legally in the US & Canada.

“We've always taken pride in creating top quality software and this makes it official. In the coming months, we will be pursuing certifications from various regulatory bodies as well, including Health Canada and the FDA, so please stay tuned!”

source: http://www.clearcanvas.ca/dnn/Home/News/tabid/196/EntryId/65/Worlds-first-ISO-13485-certified-open-source-RIS-PACS.aspx

Well done to the ClearCanvas guys again for pushing the open source radiology software 1 step closer to being a reality for everyone! Keep up the good work and we are eagerly awaiting future news and software releases.

Feedback: 1st African PACS & RIS Edu-conference

The 1st African PACS & RIS Edu-conference was a fantastic event. I think the organisers put together a great show and taught the local PACS & RIS community a great many things.

I am so glad to know that there are that many Southern African people out there going through the same issues that we are. It was a real eye opener to share in the experiences of both private practice and that of government, who share some issues, but on the whole have very different outlooks on the systems at large.

The formation of a local organisation to address PACS & RIS issues was raised. I think this will be a great asset to the local community as it will give us a platform to communicate, educate and drive the industry forward.

Well done to the event organisers, it was great to be a part of the event and thank you for teaching us so much.

http://www.pacsrisafrica.com

ClearCanvas Workstation 1.5 SP1

ClearCanvas has released SP1 to address the bug in their software that affected the polygon ROI tool.

You can download the ClearCanvas Service Pack from the ClearCanvas website: http://www.clearcanvas.ca/

Original Post from ClearCanvas site: http://www.clearcanvas.ca/dnn/Home/News/tabid/196/EntryId/60/Workstation-1-5-SP1-Now-Available.aspx

More Microsoft Visio PACS Stencils

I have added some more Visio stencils for PACS drawings. (Previous post)
The collection now consists of the following: CT Scanner, MRI Scanner, CR, Cassettes and icons.

You can download the stencils from http://drop.io/pacsworld_visioStencil_01/