Gaming keyboards could ‘revolutionize’ radiologists’ engagement with PACS, members of the specialty say

Gaming keyboards could “revolutionize” radiologists’ engagement with picture archiving and communication systems, members of the specialty asserted in commentary published Tuesday.

Surging demand for diagnostic imaging is placing a spotlight on the inefficiencies of traditional workstation setups. Utilizing conventional mice and keyboards forces physicians to grapple with “cumbersome shortcuts leading to fatigue, errors and possible injuries,” Nicholas Said, MD, MBA, and co-authors noted.

Specialty keyboards designed for video games, however, could be a solution, allowing users to personalize the use of each button to “simplify complex tasks into single-touch actions.”

“Incorporating these keyboards could revolutionize radiologists' engagement with PACS,” Said, with the Department of Radiology at Duke University Health System, and colleagues wrote Sept. 26 in Current Problems in Diagnostic Radiology [1]. “The customizable feature significantly trims time spent searching, ushering in swifter, ergonomic interactions.”

Said et al. have written a guide for adapting a Logitech keyboard to the specialty’s needs, including creating a profile and mapping shortcuts. While the manuscript focuses on one specific brand, they emphasized that their user guide is intuitive, allowing readers to adapt to varying modalities, subspecialties and viewer software.

“As radiology pivots toward utmost efficiency, gaming keyboards emerge as invaluable assets, promising significant workflow enhancements,” the authors advised.

Read much more in CPIDR at the link below.

Marty Stempniak

Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic. 

Around the web

The patient, who was being cared for in the ICU, was not accompanied or monitored by nursing staff during his exam, despite being sedated.

The nuclear imaging isotope shortage of molybdenum-99 may be over now that the sidelined reactor is restarting. ASNC's president says PET and new SPECT technologies helped cardiac imaging labs better weather the storm.

CMS has more than doubled the CCTA payment rate from $175 to $357.13. The move, expected to have a significant impact on the utilization of cardiac CT, received immediate praise from imaging specialists.