Image acquisition is a big part of PACS or Picture Archiving and Communication System. The best way to capture and store medical images to the diagnostic image storage servers is by using the standard DICOM format directly from the diagnostic tools, but this is not always the case. That is why top medical image storage solutions offer alternative image acquisition methods.

Older diagnostic tools can be equipped with modules and add-ons that will allow them to capture medical images digitally. The process of acquiring the necessary medical images using the add-ons is exactly the same as that of natively-digital diagnostic tools.

If you use an online diagnostic image storage solution, you will also get a web upload interface. This is very useful if you are converting old medical images and hardcopies of patients’ information, since all formats are supported and will be archived properly.

Last but certainly not least, a good diagnostic image storage solution must also support manual image acquisition. You can simply digitize and copy old archives or medical images into DVDs and send them to the solution provider for further processing and acquisition. Of course, the solution provider might charge an extra fee for this type of service.