Patterns of utilization of computer workstations in a filmless environment and implications for current and future picture archiving and communication systems

A workstation monitoring program can be implemented, which automatically creates a log of workstation utilization that can be exported for analysis on a conventional spreadsheet or database analysis program. This methodology has several drawbacks as described, which make it a relatively crude tool in the prediction of peak and average network traffic and optimal workstation deployment. A large-scale PACS should include system administration tools that permit the creation of a utilization log and subsequent analysis of all image and database accesses for each workstation. This tool should not result in measurable degradation of system performance and should be run on an ongoing basis. Such an administrative tool could provide critical information to vendors for system design, to customers for system planning, and to users for system optimization and maintenance.