Vendor Neutral Archive

A Vendor Neutral Archive (VNA) is a medical imaging technology in which images and documents (and potentially any file of clinical relevance) are stored (archived) in a standard format with a standard interface, such that they can be accessed in a vendor-neutral manner by other systems.

This terminology is used as distinct from a traditional Picture Archiving and Communications Systems (PACS), although there is debate about where the boundary between a VNA and a PACS lies along the continuum of their common features.

The simplest definition is "a medical device that stores medical images in a standard format with a standard interface, such that they can be accessed in a vendor-neutral manner by other systems".

So-called "vendor neutrality" is implied by the standard format and interface, and the neutrality is with respect to vendor-specific devices that produce or consume those images (e.g., for display, distribution or analysis, with or without specific workflows, such as for radiology reporting, i.e., a PACS).

The exact definition and feature set is contentious though, and evolves as different vendors of VNAs attempt to distinguish themselves from their competitors and avoid being excluded, and customers express desires ranging from pragmatic to fantastic.

There is general agreement on the following key features:

Each of the following features remain contentious, in the sense that some customers and vendors claim that some or all are fundamental to the concept, but others disagree:

Traditionally, the need to store medical images has been most common in the radiology and nuclear medicine departments, and has been implemented in the form of sub-specialty and departmental (PACS), which have combined the functions of image management and image archiving into a single solution. Whilst such systems all have standard interfaces (DICOM and IHE) for ingestion and distribution of images over the network and on physical media (like CD), typically the workflow and optimal performance for display are achieved using proprietary software and protocols. Further, the persistent storage "inside" a proprietary PACS may not be in a standard form, the PACS may not update the stored files with the latest study and demographic updates and annotations stored in the database, and it may extend, abuse or depend on specific standard and non-standard (private) DICOM attributes in the stored files.

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