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ICAVL Board member Phillip Bendick, PhD, RVT, Director of Surgical Research and Technical Director of the Peripheral Vascular Diagnostic Center at William Beaumont Hospital, reinforces the benefits of utilizing digital technology. "For our hospital-based vascular laboratory, the conversion to a digital PACS system has let us prove the old adage that 'a picture is worth a thousand words,'" stated Dr. Bendick. "We can pull up a study on any terminal in the hospital now and show to a referring physician the images that correspond to the written report. Acceptance by the medical staff was nearly instantaneous and has dramatically increased the appropriate utilization of our vascular laboratory services in all areas of testing."
	FIGURE 1. Image recorded utilizing thermal print paper demonstrating suboptimal quality
	FIGURE 2. Image recorded utilizing digital system and demonstrating acceptable quality

"For an office-based practice, I would think it essential that there be an easy mechanism to copy a vascular study and send it with a patient for any referral to a hospital system for treatment. Digital studies can easily be copied to an inexpensive CD and be read on virtually any PC- or Mac-based computer manufactured in the last five or six years, making those studies universally available to treating physicians. It is a great opportunity for a practice to engage in good public relations and it also tends to markedly decrease the need for studies to be repeated by a hospital system."

Realizing that the use of dynamic data in the interpretation of vascular studies is a critical component of data review for many physicians, it is important to point out that the systems used to digitally store data can include any number of "loops." This allows for capturing this important element of a study and the enhanced image quality provides improved detail, enabling the interpreter the capability of identifying subtleties that can be lost in the limited quality of video tape and other mediums.

In addition to enhanced image quality, implementing the use of digital recording systems can increase the effective use of storage space and archiving data. Specifically related to accreditation, it has been dually noted by laboratories and the ICAVL that the number of damaged tapes impedes review of these cases. Related to patient care, such damage to archived data leads to permanently lost records.

There are a number of data recording systems available and the ICAVL does not advocate the use of one system over another, but rather encourages laboratories seeking to implement or enhance their current system to evaluate any number of vendors, to identify the system that will best meet their laboratory's individual needs and requirements.

By promoting the use of advancing technologies, the ICAVL remains committed to its mission of promoting high quality noninvasive vascular diagnostic testing in the delivery of health care by providing a peer review process of laboratory accreditation.

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