Ten Years Of PACS Experience

A few of us here can look back ten years or more of having observed or even having participated in the PACS development. Depending on our point of view, little or much progress has been made since 1978. In the following, the authors will sketch a log book of an industrial developer and vendor, i.e., Philips Medical Systems. Some comments will turn out to be specifically applicable to the Philips Concern but the majority is probably also true for other major X-ray manufacturing companies. There are certain ground rules which have to be observed if a company wants to prove itself in a market as ambitious and complex as the medical market and, in particular, the PACS market. These ground rules will be either explicitly mentioned or are implied for the attentive listener. The following aspects will be considered: