Hello all,
TL;DR
Can Orthanc be used to access exams stored on another PACS without importing them ?
Alternatively, can Orthanc be used to access exams stored on a NAS (storage of another PACS system) without importing them ?
Long version :
I have been in charge of the IT in a charity hospital for a few months.
I am new to the medical domain, but I am trying to improve the workflow in the hospital by using a PACS server for the radiology department.
We are already using a proprietary software (EchoPAC) for echography with its storage on a NAS.
So far, I have setup an Orthanc server for tests. I am able to send and receive exams from different modalities and everything look very promising!
Ideally I would like to have one single user interface for the medical staff to access all the exams stored in both the Orthanc PACS (x-ray, CT, etc.) and the EchoPAC (echo).
I currently have problems communicating with the EchoPAC (I’m not sure if it is a licence limitation or it was not installed properly, but that’s another topic). I am looking for new solutions.
I was wondering if it would be possible to use Orthanc as a “gateway” to the EchoPAC or its storage.
By gateway, I mean to use Orthanc to index the exams stored from the EchoPAC but without importing them and to view the exams stored on the NAS.
Alternatively, I could also settle to add the NAS as an external storage in Orthanc. However, I don’t know if the file structure used to store the images would be a problem.
I have very limited storage here so it is out of the question to import a copy in Orthanc. I would also prefer to keep the two PACS separated as much as possible (the users are used to one system and it will be hard to change it).
Is there any way to do setup one of the above-mentioned option? Is there a better alternative I didn’t consider (except moving everything in Orthanc) ?
Thank you in advance for your help !
Massimo