R. Vogl

Sophisticated hospital information system/radiology information system/picture archiving and communications system (PACS) integration in a large-scale traumatology PACS.

Picture archiving and communications system (PACS) in the context of an outpatient trauma care center asks for a high level of interaction between information systems to guarantee rapid image acquisition and distribution to the surgeon. During installation of the Innsbruck PACS, special aspects of traumatology had to be realized, such as imaging of unconscious patients without identification, and transferred to the electronic environment. Even with up-to-date PACS hardware and software, special solutions had to be developed in-house to tailor the PACS/hospital information system (HIS)/radiology information system (RIS) interface to the needs of radiologic and clinical users. An ongoing workflow evaluation is needed to realize the needs of radiolgists and clinicians. These needs have to be realized within a commercially available PACS, whereby full integration of information systems may sometimes only be achieved by special in-house solutions.

Telemedizin: Chancen und Risiken

ZusammenfassungFragestellung. Durch die rasante Entwicklung der Informationstechnologie und der Datennetzwerke werden auch telemedizinische Applikationen immer zahlreicher eingesetzt. Neben der kurativen Telemedizin, die medienwirksame Erfolge verbuchen kann, gewinnen der elektronische Datenaustausch und die Gesundheitseinrichtungen übergreifende Informationssystemintegration wachsende Bedeutung. Aus der besseren Zugänglichkeit der elektronischen Krankengeschichtsinformation ergeben sich neben Chancen auch Risiken. Methodik. Ein Beispielprojekt für die Vernetzung von medizinischen Bildarchivierungssystemen (PACS) verschiedener Krankenhäuser wird vorgestellt und die Möglichkeiten für die Weiterentwicklung solcher Vernetzungssysteme durch die Nutzung neuer Softwaretechnologien für den transparenten, Standorte übergreifenden Datenzugriff (GRID) und für die Entscheidungsunterstützung (Softwareagenten) werden diskutiert. Ergebnisse. Die Verfügbarkeit der elektronischen Krankengeschichtsdaten über das Datennetzwerk und die Perspektive, dass semiintelligente Softwaresysteme die Aufbereitung dieses Datenmaterials unterstützen, birgt großes Potenzial für eine Steigerung von Behandlungsqualität und Effizienz. Eindeutige Patientenidentifikationssysteme und sichere digitale Signaturen stellen eine Grundvoraussetzung dafür dar, genügen jedoch alleine noch nicht, um die Datensicherheit zu gewährleisten. Schlussfolgerung. Trotz der großen Qualitäts- und Effizienzvorteile und der Erhöhung der Chancengleichheit der Patienten, erwachsen Herausforderungen im Datenschutz und durch den Wandel der ärztlichen Rolle.AbstractProblem. Due to the rapid progress in the fields of information technology and data networks, telemedicine applications are growing in number. Besides curative telemedicine, the electronic exchange of medical data and the integration of health information systems between health care providers is gaining importance. Through the improved accessibility of electronic patient record information, considerable risks arise. Methods. A project for the interconnection of medical picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) between several hospitals is presented and the possibilities for further developing such networking systems utilizing new software technologies for transparent data access between different locations (GRID) and for decision support (software agents) are considered. Results. The availability of the electronic patient record via the data network and the perspective of semi intelligent software systems automatically preparing the data bears great potential for a boost in treatment quality and efficiency. Systems for unique electronic patient identification and for secure digital signature are a prerequisite, but per se not enough to ensure the protection of data against illegitimate access. Conclusion. Despite quality and efficiency benefits, challenges in the protection of sensible data and in the change of the physicians role result.

A pilot telemedicine project between Innsbruck and Reutte in Tyrol

to know where the patients are at any instant and how many patients are currently at the reception area or are in transport. This information could be gathered fromthe health emergency coordination centre (HECC), together with information about available resources at the different medical facilities, so that patients canbe divided among the hospitals and emergency centres. This would allow the optimumuse of the available resources and coordination between the different authorities involved in dealing with a disaster. We have proposed a disaster data management system comprising mobile triage units (MTU) to be held by the rescue teamat the disaster area and a medical dispatch station (MDS) to be installed at the AMS (Fig 1). A suitable communication infrastructure would be deployed at the site to provide voice and data connections between the mobile units and the AMS. The MTU systemwill register patients and transmit the information back to the HECC and to the AMS. The MTU will be based on a light, hand-held computer with built-in data communication systemand a GPS receiver so that the position of the rescue teamcan be tracked at the AMS for more effective management of the medical resources at the scene. Theevacuationofficer inthe AMSwill receive the informationfromthe MTUs intheMDS. The MDS will bea workstationequippedwithaGISdatabasesothattheoperator knows thedifferent access routes tothe disaster scene. The workstationwill alsomonitor the positionof themedical resources (e.g. ambulances andmedical staff) deployedinthe area andthe medical resources available at the patients’ destinations. Communicationbetweenthe MDSandthe mobileunits will be voice anddata, while communication betweentheMDS andtheHECCwill be datatransmission throughGSMor satellite. Apilot telemedicine project betweenInnsbruck and Reutte inTyrol

Cloud Storage Services in Higher Education – Results of a Preliminary Study in the Context of the Sync&Share-Project in Germany

In recent years, a growing number of institutions in higher education is in progress to adopt cloud storage services. This paper describes the Sync&Share NRW-project in North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany) with a target audience of up to 500,000 users and presents the main results of a preliminary large-scale survey at the University of Muenster with more than 3,000 participants. The results of the analysis indicates a very high demand for an on-premise cloud service solution in German higher education with mobile access, a storage volume comparable to commercial offerings, collaborative features such as simultaneous work on text documents and, above all, high data protection standards.

Graphical Concepts For The Representation Of Events In High Energy Physics

Different methods to graphically represent points and tracks of events, measured with the ALEPH-detector at LEP, are discussed. Special emphasis is put on projections, that are adapted to the cylindrical geometry of the detector, to the track geometry of charged particles moving in a homogeneous magnetic field and to the specific event topologies, encountered in Z0 physics. A new concept, the so-called “V-plot”, is introduced, which incorporates the full three dimensional information of spatial points in a single picture. It is ideally suited for the study of more complicated event topologies, such as e.g. decays of particles within jets, and of the correlation between information from tracking and calorimetric devices. In addition, we propose ways of combining histograms and projections in a single picture. We describe methods of employing colour schemes to facilitate recognition of correlations between hits, tracks and/or subdetectors in different representations.

Going all digital in a university hospital: a unified large-scale PACS for multiple departments and hospitals

In 1997, a large PACS was first introduced at Innsbruck University Hospital in the context of a new traumatology centre. In the subsequent years, this initial PACS setting covering only one department was expanded to most of the hospital campus, with currently some 250 viewing stations attached. Constantly connecting new modalities and viewing stations created the demand for several redesigns from the original PACS configuration to cope with the increasing data load. We give an account of these changes necessary to develop a multi hospital PACS and the considerations that lead us there. Issues of personnel for running a large scale PACS are discussed and we give an outlook to the new information systems currently under development for archiving and communication of general medical imaging data and for simple telemedicine networking between several large university hospitals.

Sync&Share North Rhine-Westphalia: a case on a university-based cloud computing service provider

Raimund Vogl is the project leader of a large-scale project that aims to introduce a university-based cloud storage service to major German universities. He needs to convince other universities to join the project. The case is based on a real situation and shows real challenges. The university-based scenario helps students to better put themselves in the context of the case. Furthermore, the case serves to teach the basic principles, risks, and benefits of cloud computing. The main challenge faced by the protagonist is to come up with a plan for organizational and user adoption. Accordingly, several technology-related theories can be used. In addition to user adoption theories such as the technology acceptance model, this case demonstrates the need of Sync&Share NRW to be perceived as a trustworthy provider. The case helps to understand the concept of trust, the relationship between trust and cloud computing acceptance, and ways to gain trust in the context of cloud computing.

Management of and access to virtual electronic health records

Digital Libraries (DLs) in eHealth are composed of electronic artefacts that are generated and owned by different healthcare providers. A major characteristic of eHealth DLs is that information is under the control of the organisation where data has been produced. The electronic health record (EHR) of patients therefore consists of a set of distributed artefacts and cannot be materialised for organisational reasons. Rather, the EHR is a virtual entity. The virtual integration of an EHR is done by encompassing services provided by specialised application systems into processes. This paper reports, from an application point of view, on national and European attempts to standardise electronic health EHR. From a technical perspective, the paper addresses how services can be made available in a distributed way, how distributed P2P infrastructures for the management of EHRs can be evaluated, and how novel contentbased access can be provided for multimedia EHRs.

Teleradiologie und PACS — das Konzept des Universitätsklinikums Innsbruck

Systems for management of digital imaging data are very important and widespread at the Innsbruck University Hospital and constitute a central component of the IT strategies followed by the hospital operating company TILAK (Tyrolean public hospitals). The particular goal is to integrate all imaging data into the electronic medical records and make these available online to each of the approx. 2500 clinic workstations and ensure electronic data exchange with other healthcare services. Teleradiology connections have been established at the University Clinic for Radiology since 1995; these have been continually expanded and linked to the central PACS. An eHealth web portal was recently established to facilitate transfer of images and findings from TILAK hospitals to other healthcare organizations. Registered users can be cleared for a limited time to access all radiological imaging data via this web portal.ZusammenfassungDie Systeme zum digitalen Bilddatenmanagement haben große Bedeutung und weite Verbreitung an der Universitätsklinik Innsbruck und sind zentraler Bestandteil der IT-Strategie der Krankenhausbetreibergesellschaft TILAK (Tiroler Landeskrankenanstalten). Ziel dabei ist es insbesondere, sämtliche Bilddaten in die elektronische Krankengeschichte zu integrieren und von jedem der ca. 2500 klinischen Arbeitsplätze aus online zugreifbar zu machen sowie den elektronischen Datenaustausch mit anderen Gesundheitsdiensteanbietern zu gewährleisten. Seit 1995 bestehen Teleradiologieverbindungen der Universitätsklinik für Radiologie; diese wurden laufend ausgebaut und die Einbindung in das zentrale PACS hergestellt. Zur Kommunikation von Bild- und Befunddaten aus den Krankenhäusern der TILAK an andere Gesundheitseinrichtungen wurde kürzlich ein eHealth WebPortal geschaffen, über das sämtliche radiologischen Bilddaten durch zeitbefristete Freigaben für registrierte Benutzer zugänglich gemacht werden können.AbstractSystems for management of digital imaging data are very important and widespread at the Innsbruck University Hospital and constitute a central component of the IT strategies followed by the hospital operating company TILAK (Tyrolean public hospitals). The particular goal is to integrate all imaging data into the electronic medical records and make these available online to each of the approx. 2500 clinic workstations and ensure electronic data exchange with other healthcare services. Teleradiology connections have been established at the University Clinic for Radiology since 1995; these have been continually expanded and linked to the central PACS. An eHealth web portal was recently established to facilitate transfer of images and findings from TILAK hospitals to other healthcare organizations. Registered users can be cleared for a limited time to access all radiological imaging data via this web portal.

A Requirements Engineering Process for User Centered IT Services – Gathering Service Requirements for the University of the Future

The process of digitalization challenges universities worldwide, in particular the universities’ IT. Using ITIL and the ITSM-focused application of software requirements engineering as a basis, qualitative interviews with students were conducted to gather information on service requirements. Three service categories clearly dominate the students’ wishes for IT support: study organization, online literature and software provision. As regards the study organization, a centralized platform granting access to all relevant information and services (e.g. schedule, exam administration, certificates, study progress, contact information) is particularly important. From the students’ point of view, IT should enable them to focus on the content of their studies, provide support for organizational problems, and grant easy access to resources, such as literature and software, while at the same time require little effort.