UCLA radiologists Osman Ratib and Antoine Rosset developed an open source iPod app to manage and move medical imaging data. Around 6,000 radiologists, surgeons, and cardiologists are now using OsiriX. From Technology Review:
It automatically recognizes and lists the medical images stored on the iPod. Now, iin much the same manner that people scroll through a playlist, radiologists can scroll through a list of patients or view their records through iPod's iPhoto application….
But it's not just a novelty, a one-time joyride for medical hackers. Thirty-seven percent of the respondents say they use it every day, and 24 percent say they are likely to develop plug-ins or other upgrades to better serve their needs.
While critics have leveled criticism about the iPod application, Ratib says that the patient's personal data is stripped out and assigned an anonymous identification during transport.
