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System Configuration & Customization

This section of the manual describes how to initially configure your RamSoft system and how to tailor it to your facility. The material described in this section of the manual consists of tasks that will be performed by very few users at any given site, and for the most part, will not be carried out frequently. Furthermore, many of the tasks described here require access to areas of the software that only certain users at the site will be able to view. If you are attempting to perform one of these tasks and find that you cannot see a button or menu item that the manual refers to, this means you have not been given sufficient permissions to perform that task. You will need to speak to the system administrator to resolve the issue.

After a new installation has been performed, this section of the manual should be read. Any topics that apply to your site, should be analyzed in detail and the described procedures can be used to tailor the software to the needs of your site. The RamSoft personnel will attempt to set up the best possible solution during the installation and will be available for assistance after the installation. However only you, the user of the product, will be able to specify your preferences for the different types of behavior the system will exhibit and so it is important that you are aware of the various options available to you.

The PowerCache Deployment & Distribution section describes the concept of cache distribution, discusses best strategies for setting up the feature and provides instructions for the actual deployment of PowerCache servers.

The last part of this section explains the installation of PowerReader clients. Since there are no limits on how many clients can be installed for any given server, it is likely that you will want to add new client machines as the need for them arises. Even though the clients can serve different purposes, depending on their location and users, the installation process is always the same. The Installing & Configuring PowerReader Clients section describes how to install and uninstall PowerReader clients, as well as how to configure their individual settings to suit the needs of the local personnel.

Certain stations will have multiple monitor setups. These can range from a set of diagnostic quality displays, to a set of color displays simply needed due to the large amount of information that has to be presented on a given station at any point in time. These multiple monitor setups can be composed of identical monitors, or mixed and matched display devices that have been grouped together. For these setups, the RamSoft software will have to be configured to work for the desired number of displays and to display the image data. This topic is covered in the Configuring Multiple Monitor Layouts section.

Once the installation is complete, the system needs to be tailored to the requirements of the site. The first section that should be reviewed after installation deals with configuring and managing Service Tasks. In this section you will schedule and activate the service tasks the system performs. These are the tasks that the system should carry out during off hours and are necessary to keep the system optimized and efficient.

Almost every single RamSoft system is required to communicate with other DICOM devices. These devices can be other PACS, imaging packages, modalities, DICOM printers or many of the other stations found in the medical imaging environment. For security reasons, the RamSoft software communicates via DICOM with only those devices that have been identified as safe communication entities. Any device that the RamSoft software will be communicating with, must be entered into the list of safe stations and thus be identified to the software. However, during a new installation, if the software have been installed by default in promiscuous mode, the RamSoft software will communicate with all devices. Aside from identification, a variety of other settings dealing with topics such as compression, DICOM services supported and transfer syntax negotiation can be configured for each remote device. Information on how to configure DICOM communication can be found in the How Do I Set Up DICOM Communication? section.

Up to this point, the topics covered have dealt with configuring the system to run smoothly, efficiently and to cooperate with other DICOM devices. The next series of topics deal with customizing interaction with the software. These sections are extremely important as this will make the biggest impact in productivity benefits and will also make the system as user friendly as possible. These are the areas that have to be configured initially and then modified, possibly a number of times, once the users begin working with the system.

The first of these topics deals with Creating & Administering Users. User accounts are assigned roles and membership to specific groups. Depending on these settings, the users will have access to different areas of the system. These settings will also determine the studies the users are able to access and what data they are able to see. Assigning these permissions appropriately is not only important for security reasons such as HIPAA restrictions, but also for the well being of the system. For example, if an unauthorized user accidentally changed some sensitive system settings, the result could be very serious. Due to this, the set up of user accounts needs to be given considerable planning and thought.

This section also discusses the configuration of the user experience. Areas such as Viewing protocols and window presets are covered. The system allows customization of these features at the system level, as well as on an individual user level. This gives each person the ability to define their own preferred behavior for locating and viewing data.

Finally, the last topic covered in this section of the manual deals with the Configuration of Workflow. This is an area that is often overlooked, however, if the Workflow is set up properly, the amount of user work can become greatly reduced. Furthermore, since the system handles a lot of tedious repetitive work that users had previously carried out manually, it eliminates human error that can occur in these situations, greatly increasing efficiency.