RSNA hands off image sharing project to lifeIMAGE

A pilot project by the Radiological Society of North America will be taken up by lifeIMAGE, a Newton, Mass.-based company that will offer an application that enables access to clinical information and medical images.

The company is picking up the RSNA pilot program, which will come to an end on March 31; it enabled clearinghouse users of the organization’s Image Share pilot program to access patient images and data on a vendor-neutral platform.

Executives at lifeIMAGE say it’s offering Clinical Connector, a high-performance, scalable and secure application that will connect patients to “their care delivery ecosystem while simultaneously simplifying administrative burdens for caregivers.”

Clinical Connectors will use domestic and international standards to achieve interoperability across clinical and non-clinical applications, including medical imaging, enabling clinicians and patients to share data seamlessly. The application achieves this by simplifying provider workflows within an electronic health records system or picture archiving and communication system (PACS). It can reduce providers’ technical costs associated with providing patients with access to medical records.

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“By democratizing data with the Clinical Connector, physicians and patients can quickly access comprehensive medical information that provides a connected view of the patient’s care across multiple delivery sites, enabling better treatment and medical decision-making,” says Matthew Michela, lifeIMAGE’s president and CEO. The network was built “based on non-proprietary industry standards so it is easy to use, provides broad access for clinicians and patients, and serves as a hub for other companies to expand their data exchange needs.”



This initiative follows on the work of the RSNA clearinghouse pilot program that was funded by the National Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering. lifeIMAGE was the operating partner for the RSNA Image Share pilot program, providing the original technical architecture upon which tens of thousands of patients, nearly 50 hospitals and seven other technology companies facilitated image sharing.

“The RSNA Image Share pilot clearly demonstrated the clinical value of physicians and patients sharing medical images and related information,” says David Mendelson, MD, principal investigator of the RSNA Image Share, professor of radiology and co-chair of Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise, an initiative by healthcare professionals and the industry to improve the way computer systems in healthcare share information. “We encourage the industry to continue to advance this important effort toward true interoperability and call out for others to join this group of vendors who have recognized that their services must represent the best interest of the patient.”