Abstract
A satellite image transmission system has been installed between an orthopedic clinic in suburban Philadelphia and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in central Philadelphia. The two facilities are approximately 15 miles apart. Images at the clinic are acquired with a laser scanning film digitizer at a 200 micron resolution. The resulting data (1680×2048×12 bits) are compressed using a non-destructive algorithm and transmitted via a Ku-Band satellite link to the hospital. The effective transmission rate is approximately one Mbit/second. Upon receipt, the images are restored before being archived and displayed on the existing Medical Image Management System in the Radiology Department. The images are interpreted by a radiologist on soft-copy displays. This paper describes the implementation of the satellite link. Data derived from a preliminary clinical study are presented. Future work to test the efficacy and the effectiveness of the system is in progress.