From the December 2016 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
RSNA Gold Medals
In a tradition that originated in 1919, Gold Medals are presented each year to individuals who have rendered exemplary service to the science of radiology and who have received unanimous approval by the RSNA board of directors. Gold Medal awards are RSNA’s highest honor. This year the organization recognized three individuals. An internationally-recognized expert in the field of imaging informatics, Dr. Paul J. Chang was a pioneer in creating rapid methods of moving digital radiology images, and spearheaded numerous research and development projects related to imaging informatics and enterprise-wide informatics challenges.
Chang’s early work in workstation design has resulted in presentation and navigation models that are widely used by the majority of picture archiving and communication systems (PACS). While at the University of Iowa, he established and evaluated one of the first ultrasound rural teleradiology networks to provide primary interpretation. Chang co-invented a novel lossless wavelet-based image distribution mechanism, dynamic transfer syntax (DTS). This technology was subsequently commercialized by the creation of Stentor PACS, which was later acquired by Philips Medical Systems. Several hundred hospitals worldwide use this PACS system.
Chang was an early advocate for deep and granular information technology (IT) system interoperability to support data-driven informatics workflow orchestration in radiology. He has led the development of one of the world’s first service-oriented architecture (SOA) implementations within a health care enterprise at the University of Chicago. Chang has demonstrated that this SOA approach can be leveraged to improve efficiency and quality in image acquisition, interpretation and results communication. Active in the application of informatics approaches to radiology education, Chang’s research group was one of the first to describe, implement and evaluate the use of simulation in radiology resident education. Under his leadership and in collaboration with RSNA, RSNA Diagnosis Live, a novel cloud-based interactive educational platform featuring gamification and deep analytics, was developed. Diagnosis Live continues to be a very popular part of the RSNA annual meeting and is being used in residency programs worldwide.
