Lossless Compression
Many of the advances in modern medicine are due to the improving quality of medical imaging. This has meant increased production of higher resolution images with larger file sizes requiring more resources to store and transfer.
Compression of images, into formats such as JPEG, has been used extensively since the advent of the internet to reduce file sizes. This allows for faster loading of webpages. While these lossy compression techniques reduce file size, they also distort the original image resulting in data loss.
Medical imaging demands the use of compression techniques that do not result in data loss, i.e. exactly the same pixel data as the original image can be obtain through the decompression process. The current industry standard for lossless compression is JPEG2000, generally allowing for a 2- to 3-fold reduction in file size.
Through extensive research, we have developed a proprietary lossless compression algorithm that provides up to a 6-fold reduction in file size, doubling the efficiency of the current industry standard. XirriX Compression is used extensively within our system to provide the following benefits:
Reduced bandwidth requirements means faster delivery of images to the reporting radiologist, resulting in faster turnaround times.
Reduced file sizes means reduced storage requirements, resulting in savings on capital and operational costs.
Robust Security
Cirrus Medical holds security with the utmost importance. Sensitive medical data must always be protected with the highest standard provided by modern technology. Multiple layers of encryption and password protection are utilized to give our clients the peace of mind that their patient data is always secure.
Often the assumption is made that all is safe within a VPN and for performance reasons many IT managers have opted to use non-encrypted data over non-secure channels within the corporate network.
A VPN in fact increases the liability for security breaches by providing multiple potential entry points into the network. This increases the risk of unauthorised access to non-encrypted data.
We employ the industry leading encryption standards and secure transfer protocols to ensure patient data is protected at all times, in transit and at rest. Our software is provided as a service whereby we ensure the security of the system and its up-time.
Transmission encryption
Drive level encryption
File level password protection
Cloud Architecture
Cirrus Medical Cloud provides a reliable, scalable and cost effective backbone to our cloud services including teleradiology, vendor neutral archive (VNA) and web portal. It is an auto-scalable solution for users of all sizes, from personal and research usage to large enterprise implementations, without the need for restrictive capital investment required by traditional distributed systems.
Our innovative architecture ensures that you have the highest performance and bandwidth available to you at all times. The high availability of cloud based services means maximum uptime without investment in costly tech support.
Diagnostic Client
Our focus from the outset has been on the user. Through extensive collaborative efforts with radiologists and other users, we have produced a naturally designed DICOM image viewer offering a clean and intuitive user interface to improve the efficiency of the reporting workflow.
In addition to standard image manipulation and annotation tools, medical speech recognition and dictation, worklists and report templates, the radiologist has direct access to advanced visualisation tools such as multi planar reconstruction and image overlays.
Web Based Viewer
Advancements in web browser technology have allowed for the provision of robust web-based applications previously only possible with native applications. Through extensive research with these technologies, we have brought the intuitive user interface of our XirriX Diagnostic Client to the web. Utilising the Cirrus Medical Cloud to securely store images and a fast loading web application, authenticated access is possible from any device anywhere in the world.
A simple weblink or URL embedded as part of the written report or electronic medical record is all that is needed to load the relevant images on the same device. This provides endless possibilities for custom made patient and referrer portal solutions.
