PenFetch

Automatic Smart Image Transfer and More. Eliminate Waste.

PenFetch automatically transfers images in advance directly to workstations or PACs to eliminate staff wait-time for images to appear. PenFetch automatically processes after-hours, before patient arrives, and/or processes walk-ins immediately.

• Eliminates radiologist and technologist wait-time
  
• Optimizes network utilization during day
  
• Eliminates staff conducting manual image transfer
  
• Distributes interpreting workload
  
• Distributes images by study type
  
• Pre-fetches priors by exam type
  
• Pre-fetches and moves images to multiple workstations
  
• Checks destinations to see if images exist prior to move
  
• Moves studies between PACs
  
• Optimizes tele-radiology, LANs, WANs and slower networks
  

Why PreFetch with PenFetch? Save time and money.

When the Radiologist opens a study to read, and the relevant prior images are not available, they have to wait while the images are retrieved from the PACS to the workstation. This wastes time and network resources, thus slowing down report turnaround time. Time is also wasted in the imaging room while the Technologists wait for priors to appear for review on their imaging workstations. Many facilities spend time and money on staff to manually look-up tomorrow’s patients, and select prior images to transfer to workstations. All this and more can all be automated with PenFetch.

PenFetch automates the retrieval of prior studies from your PACS archives and routes them to your workstations. Automatically the relevant comparison images are moved in the evening to the workstation cache before your Radiologists or the Technologists arrive. This service automatically processes walk-ins during the day.

How does it work? PenFetch queries a DICOM worklist for patients that have arrived or are scheduled to arrive. It then queries your various PACS archives for a list of all available images for each patient, and requests your PACS to move a copy of the images to each of the workstations based upon a set of defined rules. Multiple PenFetch services can be used to process different worklists and/or different move criteria.

PenFetch has smarts too, it will check the destination workstation to see if the images already exist and only copies the images it needs. By only moving what is needed, PenFetch saves bandwidth and optimizes tele-radiology environments. In addition, PenFetch can even query one PACs for studies and request the move (copy) from another.

PenFetch only fetches images that fit the rule set. For example; at midnight for arriving screening patients, retrieve the last 2 Mammograms, and any Breast US or MRIs within the last 3 years, and for diagnostic patients, retrieve all exams (Mammo, Breast US or MRIs) within the last 5 years. Walk-in studies can be processed immediately. PenFetch is not limited to mammography studies only.

PenFetch can distribute different exam types to workstations. For example, diagnostic exams to the workstations in the Diagnostic Reading Room and screenings to the Screening Room. To balance workloads, PenFetch can route images for patients with even MRNs to one workstation, and odd MRNs to another.

For facilities without a DICOM Worklist available, PenRad offers HL7 and DICOM tools to provide DICOM Worklists from an HL7 message or a file, and filter based upon the examination type. The software is a Windows service requiring a simple PC running Windows XP or Vista. The PenFetch DICOM conformance statement is available on the PenRad website at www.penrad.com

For more information or to schedule a personal webinar contact PenRad at 763-475-3388 or email PenRad at www.penrad.com