RSNA’s Image Share project hopes to repeat DICOM success

In the late 1990s, radiology societies helped encourage vendor adoption of the DICOM 3.0 standard, a milestone that ultimately sparked a revolution in digital image management. Now, RSNA hopes its Image Share project will do the same for the nascent field of image sharing.

“This is the next revolution from our perspective, enabling standards-based image sharing,” said Dr. David Mendelson, chief clinical investigator for Image Share and chief of clinical informatics at Mount Sinai Medical Center. Mendelson is also a member of RSNA’s radiology informatics committee, which developed the Image Share concept.

Working with five pilot sites and vendor partners, the project has implemented a patient-centric model for sharing images and reports. Image Share recently began signing up patients at Mount Sinai Medical Center and the University of California, San Francisco. The other three Image Share pilot sites — the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN; University of Chicago Medical Center; and the University of Maryland Medical Center — are set to begin enrolling patients in the next couple of months.

Image Share had its genesis in discussions a few years ago by RSNA’s radiology informatics committee, which would frequently discuss mechanisms for image sharing at its meetings. Attention during those talks focused on CDs and their associated problems and workflow issues, Mendelson said.

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