The e-pacs Storage Service

Electronic Documentation in Radiology

A trend toward the electronic processing and archiving of images (PACS) has been clearly evident for several years in the fields of radiology and partial radiology. This is accompanied by the necessity of likewise electronically complying with the obligation for medical documentation. The combination of large volumes of data and lengthy storage intervals of ten years or longer makes this task, when viewed objectively, a difficult and elaborate process. Regardless of which mass-storage system one purchases today, it is unrealistic to expect that the same system will still be reasonably useable a decade or more in the future. When considering the overall expenditures, it is unavoidable to bear in mind that costly replacements are likely to be necessary every five years; furthermore, old data which have accumulated during this period will need to be more or less laboriously copied onto the new system.

Use It Rather Than Buy It

The e-pacs Storage Service makes available for the first time an archival solution for medical image data which assures that the users who generate the images remain independent of long-term technological developments in the storage media. e-pacs achieves this by uncoupling radiologists’ data storage from the implemented storage technologies. Mutual usage of costly mass-storage systems, and their professional operation by Telepaxx in the e-pacs Storage Center with its security infrastructure (which is custom-tailored to suit medical requirements), enables the e-pacs users to avail themselves of optimal storage technology at minimal costs. Depending on the selected fee structure, this usage is also possible without primary investments and for guaranteed monthly fees.
 

Storage as a Service

The usage of a Dicom long-term archive gives clients two essential degrees of freedom. On the one hand, it renders the client independent of the implemented PACS application and makes it possible to change the application, ordinarily without the need for laborious data migration. On the other hand, the typical useful duration of a storage technology is only five years, so several technology changes and their accompanying migration processes are necessary during the legally required data-storage interval. e-pacs offers long-term independence and investment security, along with the ability to exactly plan future expenses without cumulative follow-up costs. 
 

The e-pacs Users

Telepaxx guarantees that the data will remain available, without follow-up costs, for at least 10 years, and optionally for 30 years, with the sole stipulation that a valid e-pacs contract remains in effect. Usage of the e-pacs Storage Center makes the client independent of future technological developments. The e-pacs Storage Service can be integrated into existing PACS solutions and can also be used as an autonomous DICOM archive; it thus offers the highest degree of security for your investment. As a general rule, existing databases of old data can be incorporated into the e-pacs Storage Service, so “data dumps” do not pose an additional problem. More than 500 million archived images, as well as 3,900 TB of online archive storage capacity in the e-pacs Storage Center and more than 50 satisfied clients (including orthopedists and radiologists in private practice, district hospitals and municipal clinics with as many as 2,800 beds) speak for themselves. Numerous university clinics and hospital operators likewise reap the advantages of the e-pacs Storage Service.
 

Large and Speedily Growing Volumes of Data

The widespread introduction of new diagnostic methods (such as digital x-ray or multislice CT) leads to extremely large volumes of data. Annual data volumes totaling numerous TB are consequently more likely to be the rule than the exception. Experience has also shown that the existing devices generate increasingly more data over the course of time. This makes it difficult to choose appropriate dimensions for mass-storage capacity and leads to the continual need for further expansions. The usage of e-pacs actually makes available an unlimited amount of storage capacity. The client pays for the archiving only once, i.e. as a predefined fee at the time when the data is given to the archiving service, thus assuring that the client has a high degree of planning security.
 

Lengthy Required Storage Intervals vs. Speedy Technological Development

The legal requirements for data storage specify intervals which significantly exceed those that typically apply to the usable lifespan of mass-storage devices (up to five years). This means that a user which operates its own local archive must cyclically purchase new mass-storage devices. Great effort (and accordingly high follow-up costs) are needed to assure the long-term availability of the data. Data stored in external archives is subject to the same problem. But the migration onto new technologies is already anticipated in an archival computer center, where the migration is automated in a professional operating environment and can accordingly be accomplished with significantly greater efficiency and without incurring additional costs for the client.
 

Complex Demands to Be Met by Professional Operating

The protected operation and handling of backup copies in the dimensions of many terabytes confronts users with significant problems with regard to personnel and space. e-pacs is designed for operator-free operation. Only minimal personnel resources are needed on the client’s side. Telepaxx takes care of the remote operating and the operation of the mass storage.