K-PACS usage in Guinea West Africa

    Hi, I am working with a non-profit hospital in Guinea West Africa near the city of Mamou. We have recently installed a portable digital x-ray machine which stores the images on an attached processor. Currently the only way to view the images is to view them on the processor, and only 200 images can be stored on the processor.


    We would like to offload the images to a standalone storage device and make them available on the hard wired LAN or to install a wireless LAN. We also would like to allow the Doctors and Nurses to view the images at their work stations vs. only on the processor.


    We are looking for a 'free' or very inexpensive image viewer. I thought I had found it with K-PACS, but when I read the EULA I am thinking we can't use this for our hospital.


    Or, does the EULA only apply to USA hositals?


    Or, can we work out a EULA specifically for the Guinea hospital. The FDA in Africa does not exist.


    I'm hoping we can work with you for a solution.


    Thank you


    Ivahn Dockter
    ivahndockter@gmail.com
    507-250-0590

    K-PACS is a free DICOM viewer that may be used for viewing DICOM images for non-diagnostic reasons. The EULA applies worldwide. You may not have to adhere to the European (CE) or United States (FDA) regulations regarding medical devices, but there may also be laws in your country regarding the use of devices and software applications for diagnostic purposes.


    The same is true for image archives (PACS). In many countries and regions you may only use those when they are certified as medical devices. Also here, the regulations of your country will apply.


    As a freeware, K-PACS is not developed, documented and validated/verified in the way it would be required for a software that is certified as a medical device, such as our professional software iQ-VIEW.


    Also keep in mind that we do not offer user documentation for this freeware and will also not grant any technical support. There are also no guarantees that the software will be developed further, e.g. to support the newer operating systems and the additional requirements posed by developing modalities.


    If you are interested, please contact our sales team at sales [at] image-systems [dot] biz to discuss your requirements for reading stations and PACS and to receive a quote.

    Thank you for the reply. If I understand what you are saying is that if there are no laws in Guinea about using K-PACS as a medical device for diagnostics then we are ok, as long as we understand that there is no documentation, no support and very likely no future enhancements to the solution - am I correct on this understanding?


    Also, would your company consider a discount for a non-profit if we decided to look at iQ-View? I talked to a re-distributor yesterday and he said a single license is $1400, which is way beyond our budget. Doctors and nurses at the hospital make around $3000 per year.


    Thank you for considering our request.

    I am saying that we did not create K-PACS to be used as a medical device and that we cannot guarantee its faultless functioning. Due to this it can't be ensured that the freeware does not carry any potential risks that may affect the patients' health or life (such as wrong measurement results resulting in wrong diagnosis).


    If in your country there are no laws against using such a software for diagnostic purposes, then you would not break a law. But we, as manufacturer, could not be held responsible in case something happens that affects a patient's health negatively.


    Since I am from the developer team I am not able to give you any price information. I can only refer you to our sales team. But we have many projects all over the world, including Africa, Latin America and Asia, so it is not impossible that we could come to a win-win situation for all sides.

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