One way to save bundles off of your initial digital radiography purchase is to work with your IT person or local computer shop and purchase your own hardware. The following are some general (and a few specific) recommendations for configuring a computer to use to view digital radiographic images. These workstations and software can also be used to expand your existing PACS.

Depending on where you purchase the computer and your final specs you can expect to pay between $500-$1000 for the computer. The monitor will cost extra. We have tested dozens of stand alone DICOM viewer applications and make recommendations for the ones we like.

The bottom line is that you don't need to break the bank to view your digital radiographic images.

Computer hardware requirements:

• CPU: Intel Cored 2 Duo or AMD64x2

• RAM: 1 to 2GB. If you will be doing voice recognition dictation, greater than 2GB of RAM is recommended.

• Hard Drive: At least 160GB if you intend to store films locally for a longer than normal length of time. Hard drive memory is cheap.

• Video Card: Geforce 6, 7 or 8 series with DVI output, or ATI equivalent. It is essential to upgrade the graphics cards to get the most out of your monitor. If you are a radiologist, you will also want a good card if you’re planning on running two displays at once. Be sure to specify how many monitors you will be using to get the correct graphics card. Most high end monitors utilize a DVI connection. Be sure your graphics card supports a DVI connection(s). You will likely notice less “compression” in the images with a DVI vs the normal connections

Operating System: Many DICOM viewers do not work with Vista. Stick with Windows XP if possible.

Computer Monitor Requirements:

• A high quality LCD display is essential for primary diagnosis. A medical grade grayscale monitor is ideal but many radiologists are using color displays for primary diagnosis. Look for a monitor with a resolution of 1600x1200 or higher, a contrast ratio of 800:1 or higher, and a brightness of 400cd/m2 or higher. Samsung Syncmaster 244t and Dell 2407 monitors are two that are recommended.For more information about monitor selection click here

• For showing images to owners you can use pretty much whatever monitor you like. Just don’t try to diagnose off of a 15 inch hunk of junk.

• Don’t forget to calibrate your monitor.

Software recommendations:

Antivirus, firewall, etc: Secure your computer but don’t go nuts. Running too much antivirus, antispyware, etc can hurt performance and make configuration difficult. There are many good ones out there and you can even secure your computer for free!

Antivirus:

• We use NOD32 http://www.eset.com/ from Eset Software because it leaves a small footprint and catches viri that other antivirus programs let through.
  

• AVG is a good antivirus program that has a free edition http://free.grisoft.com/

Firewall:

• Zone Labs Zone alarm http://www.zonealarm.com/store/content/home.jsp has been around for years. There is even a free version

• Windows Firewall is free with windows and seems to do the trick

Spyware:

• Spybot search and destroy http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html or Lavasoft Adaware http://www.lavasoftusa.com/ are great free programs that are highly recommended.

Productivity Suite

• Microsoft office is the standard but there are open source applications such as OPEN OFFICE http://www.openoffice.org/ that will get you most of the functionality and wont cost a penny.
  
  

DICOM viewing software: There are many options here. In most cases your digital radiography vendor will sell or provide you with your viewer. If you do not like your vendors viewer, they are too expensive, or you are looking for one with more functionality, here are a few*. Do not be duped into thinking "more is better." A higher price does not necessarily mean a better viewer if you are buying functionality you don't need or wont use.

• K-PACS: A free viewer with excellent functionality and stability. Price level - FREE: www.k-pacs.net
• I²View: A new viewer by Advanced Veterinary Technologies. This dedicated veterinary viewer will support all modalities (including multiframe), has all the functionality and finds a way to maintain a very clean and simple to use interface. Even the CD burning utility is top notch. The AVT viewer is confirmed Vista compatible. Price level:$ www.avtmri.com.
• RADinfosystems RSVS*: Tons of functionality. All this functionality makes the configuration and learning curve a little steeper than other viewers. Price level: $$ www.radinfosystems.com
• Inteleviewer workstation: Another great viewer. Price level: $$$$ www.intelerad.com
• E-film: The standard in vet med for advanced functionality - especially with CT. Price level: $$$$ (www.eklin.com).

* NOTE; There are tons of free viewers. Some are good. Some are awful. Many are crashy and not worth the effort as they have limited functionality. The viewers recommended here are fully functional and support DICOM Q/R, viewing all types of images, come with a CD burner etc.

* NOTE: If you do find yourself with a Mac, there is a great freeware called OSIRIX that will do everything you need http://www.osirix-viewer.com/

*Full disclosure: Radinfosystems is an advertiser on this website and we use their web product for our DVMinsight Image Bank interface.

I would like to thank Stephen Walters, CTO DVMinsight for his assistance with this article.