Workstation versus Free Open Source Software in radiology

ABSTRACT

Over the last years, we have observed a constant increase in the number of technological applications to visualize medical images which are of great interest, both from a teaching and a radiological perspective. Graphic workstations in radiology allow their users to process, review, analyse, communicate and exchange multidimensional digital images acquired with different image-capturing radiological devices. Therefore, they are very sophisticated computing tools that combine software and hardware to process medical images, and they can work with digital pictures in several dimensions, obtained with different image-capturing radiological devices from CT (Computerised tomography), MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging), PET (Positron Emission Tomography), etc. However, the programs included in these workstations have a high cost which always depends on the software provider and is always subject to its norms and requirements.

On the other hand, free open source software in the field of radiology, offers good ways to digitally manage a medical image and they can be easily installed in personal computers. Also, they do not cost anything and do not depend on the provider, since the source code is freely available.

With this study, we aim to present the advantages and disadvantages of these radiological image management and visualization systems in the advanced management of radiological studies. We will compare the features of the VITREA2® radiology workstation with free open source software applications like OsiriX® and 3D Slicer®, with examples from specific studies.

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Index Terms

• Human-centered computing

  • Collaborative and social computing

    • Collaborative and social computing systems and tools

      • Open source software

  • Human computer interaction (HCI)

    • Interactive systems and tools

      • User interface management systems

  • Visualization

    • Visualization application domains

      • Visual analytics