Radiology software: from the imaging request to the printed report
Radiology software has to do what a general clinic program rarely does well: bring the request, the study and the radiologist's reading into one report the referring clinician can rely on. This guide sets out what an imaging record should hold, follows one examination through OPALEVI, and says plainly what its DICOM viewer does and what it is not.
Key takeaways
- A report is read from its first lines: who asked, and why. The referring clinician and the clinical indication belong in the record, not on a slip left at the desk.
- Reporting categories such as BI-RADS or Lung-RADS should be picked from a list, so every report uses the same codes and they can be found again.
- OPALEVI opens the DICOM study beside the report, with window, length and angle tools, and keeps the measurements with the examination; the DICOM file itself is not kept, so your archive holds the originals.
- It is not a PACS and does not talk to the scanners. CT dose indices are typed from the dose report, recorded and printed, never calculated.
Why an imaging service outgrows paper and a general program
Most small imaging services run on three things that never meet: the referring doctor's request slip, the scanner's console and a report typed in a word processor. The gaps between them show up the same way everywhere:
- A request without a question. “Chest X-ray” and nothing more, so the radiologist reports without the clinical indication or rings the referrer to ask.
- Categories written five ways. “BI-RADS 3” in one report, “category III, probably benign” in the next, nothing in a third.
- Dose left on the console. The CT dose report is printed or photographed; the CTDIvol and DLP never reach the patient's record.
- A critical finding with no trail. The ward was phoned about a pneumothorax, but nobody wrote down who took the call, or when.
An imaging report is a chain of request, technique, images, reading, category and recommendation. Software earns its place by keeping every link in one record.
What a radiology record has to hold
One imaging examination should answer these questions without a phone call, whatever program holds it. Use the list to judge any system, today's included.
| Field | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Referring clinician and clinical indication | Who asked, and what they need answered. |
| Modality, region, protocol or projection | What was actually done, in words the next radiologist understands. |
| Contrast and the agent | For the next examination, and for any question about a reaction. |
| CT dose indices (CTDIvol, DLP) | The console's dose report, kept with the patient instead of the machine. |
| Findings, impression, comparison | The description, the conclusion and the change since the last study. |
| Reporting category | BI-RADS, TI-RADS, LI-RADS or Lung-RADS as a code that can be searched later. |
| Recommendation | The next step the radiologist proposes, or none. |
| Critical finding communication | Who was told, on which day and at what time; not for the patient's copy. |
| Images and measurements | The study the report was read from, and the numbers it quotes. |
Codes, not clinical guidance
BI-RADS (breast), TI-RADS (thyroid), LI-RADS (liver) and Lung-RADS (lung cancer screening) are the ACR's reporting systems, and each gives its categories a meaning and a course of action. Software should store and print the code the radiologist chose; what it means for this patient stays the radiologist's call.
One examination in OPALEVI, from request to report
Here is one examination's path through OPALEVI for diagnostic centres, where a visit is called an examination (New examination, Examinations); a hospital's radiology department calls the same record a visit. Bold words are the names on screen.
The request arrives
A colleague in another department uses Refer to a department with Imaging as the request. It appears on the Referrals worklist and under Asked of us on Today, and Take it on books the patient. For an outside doctor, type their name and question into Referring clinician and Clinical indication. A booked patient can be emailed a reminder the day before.
Open and prepare
New examination opens the Radiological examination for an existing or a new patient. A radiographer working as a nurse or assistant adds the services, uploads the study on the Examination documents card and presses Mark ready for the doctor. The clinical record belongs to the reporting clinician, who can also upload from the viewer with Upload a study (.dcm).
Record the technique
Choose the Modality from ten (X-ray, ultrasound, CT, MRI, mammography, densitometry and four dental ones; PET, nuclear medicine and fluoroscopy are not offered), fill in the Anatomical region and Protocol / projection, and tick With contrast where it applies. For a CT, copy the CTDIvol and DLP from the dose report into Radiation dose.
Read and report
Window and measure the study in the Study viewer, then write the Description of findings, the Impression and the Comparison with previous examinations, pick the code under Reporting categories and a Recommendation under Next step.
Finish and bill
Finish the examination, print the Radiology report, then take the payment or choose Invoice this examination. An invoice locks the charges, while the clinical text can still be corrected.
The DICOM viewer: what it does, and what it is not
The record's last section, DICOM study, holds the viewer, so a study is read and reported on one screen. A study is one DICOM file of up to 25 MB; a multi-frame file, such as an ultrasound clip, keeps up to 400 frames.
- Window. Drag on the image (a finger works on a tablet) or type the Window centre (WC) and Window width (WW); Save the window with the visit keeps the one you reported from.
- Measure. Measure the length gives millimetres from the study's own pixel spacing, or pixels, said plainly, when the study carries none. Measure an angle gives degrees. Up to 50 measurements stay with the examination.
- Frames and scale. A slider or the arrow keys move through a clip; Actual size (1:1) shows every stored pixel.
Opening a study follows the department's record privacy, and each opening goes into the access log.
What it is not
At upload, OPALEVI renders every frame at the study's own window into a compressed 8-bit image, keeps the pixel spacing and the modality, and drops the DICOM file. Brightness and contrast still move, within that stored range.
- Not a PACS: no DICOM network, no modality worklist, no query or retrieve. Studies arrive as uploads.
- Not your archive: the originals stay on the scanner or in your PACS.
- Not every encoding: uncompressed, RLE and JPEG (lossless or baseline) studies open; JPEG 2000 and JPEG-LS are refused with a note on what to export instead.
- Two measurements: length and angle. No Hounsfield readout, no area, no reconstruction and no side-by-side view of a prior study.
Decide where the originals live
Before relying on OPALEVI's copy, settle where the original DICOM files are kept, and for how long. OPALEVI keeps what the report was read from, not a diagnostic archive.
Marking findings on a figure
The Image map pins findings on reference figures: the chest, the skeleton from the front and from behind, an axial head and the two mammography views. A pin takes the name of its region and the finding in words, and prints under Findings on the image. The figures are not the patient's images.
The report, the laboratory and the rest of the centre
The Radiology report prints under a radiologist's headings: examination and referrer, clinical indication, Technique (protocol, contrast, CTDIvol, DLP), comparison, findings, the image map, Measurements on the study, impression, category and next step, on the clinic's letterhead with the doctor's signature. The critical-finding call never reaches the patient's copy.
The report is printed and handed over: OPALEVI emails invoices, offers and receipts as PDF, not reports, and patients have no portal. Printing needs access to the patient's history, which reception lacks in a new clinic, so agree who prints.
Radiology also answers the centre's or hospital's other departments. Finishing an examination closes the open request and tells the doctor who asked, whether cardiology wanted a chest film or the surgical ward a post-operative scan. A diagnostic centre also starts with a Laboratory department, so analyses and imaging share the patient's file; see medical laboratory software.
Doctors write the record, nurses and assistants prepare, reception books and takes payment, and finance sees no clinical records. By default, anyone whose role opens clinical records may read a radiology record. Record privacy, found under Settings → Department setup, can restrict that to The department or Only the clinician, and the studies obey the same choice.
Questions to ask before choosing radiology software
Put these to every vendor, and test each reply with a real study. OPALEVI's replies include its no's.
| Ask | Look for | OPALEVI |
|---|---|---|
| Does the record start from the request? | Referrer and indication as fields. | Yes, plus internal referrals on a worklist. |
| Are categories structured? | RADS codes from lists. | Yes: BI-RADS, TI-RADS, LI-RADS, Lung-RADS and its S modifier. |
| Is CT dose on the record? | CTDIvol and DLP, printed. | Partly: typed, never read from the scanner or calculated. |
| Can you read the study beside the report? | Window, length, angle, saved measurements. | Yes, and the measurements print on the report. |
| Does it keep the original DICOM? | A clear answer on originals. | No: 8-bit frames for reading; the file is dropped. |
| Does it connect to scanners or a PACS? | DICOM worklist and transfer, if you need them. | No: studies are uploaded files. |
| Can you book by scanner? | A diary per machine. | No: the calendar is per clinician. |
| Is the price predictable? | Known before you grow. | Per staff member; examinations are never counted. |
For the full price and a team calculator see the pricing page, for the rest of the product the features page, and for the department in brief the radiology page.
Your first week as an imaging centre in OPALEVI
After you register as a diagnostic centre, the First steps checklist on Today ticks off the setup as you go. For imaging:
Services and paper
Replace the sample list (an X-ray, an ultrasound, a radiology report) under Add your services and prices, then Set up the report letterhead.
The team
Invite your colleagues: radiologists as doctors, radiographers as nurses or assistants, the desk as reception.
One export per scanner
Upload a test study from each machine and check that it opens and shows its pixel spacing in millimetres; a refusal names the export to use.
Real work
Open your first examination, write the report, print it and take the payment.
Start with plain films
Run X-ray and ultrasound for a week, where files are small and reports short, and add CT and MRI once the team trusts the flow.
Frequently asked questions
What is radiology software?
A program that keeps each imaging examination in one record: the request and referrer, the modality and technique, the dose, findings, impression, reporting category, recommendation and the images the report was read from. Good radiology software also prints a clear report and limits who can open it.
Is OPALEVI a PACS?
No. It opens a DICOM study beside the report, with window, length and angle tools, but has no DICOM network, modality worklist or query and retrieve. Uploaded studies become compressed 8-bit frames and the original file is not kept, so the originals stay in your own archive.
Does OPALEVI calculate the radiation dose?
No. It has fields for the CTDIvol (mGy) and DLP (mGy·cm) that a CT console prints on its dose report. They are typed, kept with the patient and printed under Technique; nothing is read from the scanner, and no effective or cumulative dose is calculated.
Can reception read radiology reports?
Not in a new clinic: reception books, admits and takes payment, and a clinic setting decides whether it may see clinical history at all. Each department's privacy setting can also keep radiology to its own staff or to the reporting clinician alone. Finance never reads clinical records.
Does it work on a tablet or a phone?
Yes, in the browser, with nothing to install; on smaller screens the menu moves to a bar at the bottom. The study viewer works there too: drag the window with a finger and tap a measurement's points on the image.
How is it priced, and can I try it?
You pay for each staff member with an active account; the number of patients, examinations or departments changes nothing. A free trial starts at registration, without a card. Let it lapse and the account simply turns read-only, with nothing deleted and nothing charged. See the pricing page.
