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When OsiriX moves from open to closed source, what does that mean for users?

Our industry just passed an unfortunate but significant milestone in the world of medical image viewing. On Friday the 13^th (interpret the date as you wish) of March 2015, Pixmeo SARL released Version 6.5 of OsiriX, this time without opening the product to the community under an open source license. What that means to OsiriX users worldwide is that OsiriX is no longer part of the open source community. According to its new license agreement (reprinted below and notably flawed in its legal construction), while you can use the OsiriX Lite version that Pixmeo provides for download without charge, you are no longer permitted to modify, copy or distribute the OsiriX program.

Learn how open source medical imaging software is changing healthcare

Most radiologists have at least heard of a radiology viewing software product called OsiriX.  While they may not know a whole lot about the product, it is the most popular medical image viewing software in the world. OsiriX was produced in Switzerland by several radiologists who had the foresight to distribute it via an open source LGPL license.  And now there is Horos, a derivative of OsiriX, with even more functionality, and a growing and potent open source community surrounding it.

What if your practice lost all its patient's medical images?

I went in for my annual breast exam yesterday.  Being over fifty with somewhat dense tissue, I am diligent about doing this annual pilgrimage.  As my doctor had told me years earlier, what’s most important is the year-to-year changes in my image.  So when they take this year’s image and compare it against last, that’s when I’ll get the most useful information.  They have last year’s scan in their archive, along with several prior years from which to compare… but what if they didn’t?

In a prior blog post, we identified the medical benefits of digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT). The technology is proving superior to standard mammograms in detecting and thereby preventing breast cancer. Important for physicians who are considering investing in this new technology, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has added new reimbursement rates and billing codes for DBT.

At Purview, we are focused on making medical image access, archive, and sharing cheaper and easier. Our passion is to make these images an integrated part of every patient’s complete medical record.