Benchmark testing of DICOM PACS

The Government released a Request for Proposal (RFP) in January 1997 for a Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) known as the Digital Imaging Network-Picture Archival and Communication System (DIN-PACS). The RFP included the requirement for each of the submitting vendors to support benchmark testing of their proposed architectures. The benchmark test equipment, protocols, and procedures, were developed through a joint effort between the Government, its contracting office, and consulting engineers. The intent of the benchmark test was to evaluate each proposed architecture in nine specific areas. This paper presents the final benchmark test methods used to evaluate a DICOM PACS architecture.