BridgeHead MediStore to Support Three PACS Vendors

BridgeHead Software Ltd. announced the validation of the BridgeHead MediStore enterprise healthcare archive to integrate with three of the top ten PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication Systems) vendors, by market share as reported by HIMSS Analytics.

Testing was conducted by the Enterprise Medical Imaging (EMI) lab at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) to demonstrate BH MediStore’s ability to provide archiving and disaster recovery services for these three specific PACS.

This validation further builds on BridgeHead’s recognition as a vendor independent supplier of data and storage management solutions for PACS applications. Earlier in June, BridgeHead Software also announced certification of BH MediStore by Siemens Healthcare in conjunction with its Syngo PACS solutions.

As a self-sustaining entity performing industry-sponsored research, the MGH EMI lab provided the facilities, test PACS, subject-matter expertise and independent viewpoint crucial to ensuring fair, impartial and testing of the BridgeHead solution. Test results indicate that BridgeHead MediStore, in its capacity as a third-party, PACS-neutral DICOM archive, can effectively interoperate with these PACS, providing both archiving and disaster recovery services.

"As hospitals capture increasing quantities of digital data every year, it is clear that the management and storage of that data needs to be optimized in order to keep costs under control," said Tom Schultz, Chief Engineer of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Enterprise Medical Imaging (EMI) Laboratory. "Given that 70% of a hospital’s data may be comprised of medical images, it is of key importance that a true enterprise healthcare archive include a PACS-neutral DICOM archiving capability such as the one provided by BridgeHead MediStore."

Charles Mallio, Vice President, Product Strategy & Business Development at BridgeHead Software, commented: "We were confident that our archiving and disaster recovery solution, BH MediStore, would fare well in these tests, as it was designed to work with any DICOM-compliant modality or PACS, as well as any storage media or device, irrespective of vendor. Of course, it’s easy for any vendor to make unilateral claims about its own products, which is why we sought validation from a respected, independent third-party with deep industry knowledge. The folks at the MGH EMI lab know PACS cold, and they were able to ratify what we knew from our own internal testing. We’re delighted with the outcome."

To download a copy of the test report (US format)

"The upcoming expiration of the National Programme for IT’s PACS and RIS contracts in 2013 is one of the main drivers causing NHS Trusts to rethink the way imaging data is stored," said Jamie Clifton, Director, Product Management, BridgeHead Software. "For NHS Trusts that are looking to incorporate a Vendor Neutral Archive (VNA) into their future PACS ecosystems, BridgeHead’s interoperable, holistic data and storage management solutions are the ideal-not only in terms of cost-effectiveness, but also in terms of data access, management, protection and security."

BridgeHead MediStore provides a searchable archive for clinical and administrative information. From DICOM images through to digitized patient documents, BH MediStore helps hospitals overcome challenges around the accessibility and interoperability of their healthcare data, making it easier for future migrations, while reducing the TCO of their existing storage infrastructure.