A teleradiology experiment in Portugal using an ISDN based system

This paper describes a Teleradiology experiment which is being held in Portugal involving Hospitals in the northern region of the country. These healthcare units are connected by means of ISDN basic accesses (2B+D) and use the INTERACT system. The system is based on Personal Computers running Windows, and creates an integrated environment for cooperative work in Medical Imaging. A DICOM interface module is also provided as well as basic tools (telepointer, magnifying glass, contrast manipulation). The system has been running in two hospitals of Porto area with good user acceptance. Organizational changes must be implemented in the involved units for a perfect integration of these new telematic tools.