title: [Digital echocardiography laboratory].
abstract: The implementation of a digital echocardiography laboratory exists today using the DICOM (Digital Imaging Communication in Medicine) standard to acquire, store and transfer echocardiographic digital images. The components of a laboratory include: 1) digital echocardiography machines with DICOM output, 2) a switched high-speed local area network, 3) a DICOM server with abundant local storage, and 4) a software to manage image and measurement information. The aim of this article was to describe the critical components of a digital echocardiography laboratory, discuss strategies for implementation, and describe some of the pitfalls that we encountered in our own implementation of the digital third level echocardiography laboratory.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio di Ecocardiografia, UO di Cardiologia, Presidio Ospedaliero Integrato Portuense, Roma. p.trambaiolo@flashnet.it
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Trambaiolo
authors.forename: Alfredo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Posteraro
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Salustri
authors.forename: Elisabetta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Amici
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Piaggio
authors.forename: Cesare
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Decanini
authors.forename: Giancarlo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gambelli
mesh_terms: D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003201:Computers; D004452:Echocardiography / Q000295:instrumentation; D004867:Equipment Design; D006801:Humans; D007753:Laboratories / Q000458:organization & administration*; D000078329:Workforce