Increase your clinic’s productivity and secure your radiology data with Asteris Modality Distribution System (MDS^©).  Designed for veterinarians by veterinarians, MDS provides real-time access, storage, and distribution of digital images to both a local computer and off-site archive locations, with real-time internet access.  Offering unparalleled data access, security, and functionality, MDS bridges the gap between complicated imaging systems and conventional computer hardware and software.  Unlike standard systems that require significant investment in expensive PACS and server hardware, MDS leverages the existing IT infrastructure within a veterinary practice, minimizing setup, and virtually eliminating ongoing maintenance costs.

Reliable Multi-Tier Secure Backup

Reduce your IT costs and headaches with MDS Server© technology.  Installed on any in-house computer with internet access, MDS Server software monitors your clinic’s modalities, automatically detecting and archiving new digital images as they are created.  Images are transferred real-time via secure protocol to Asteris offsite servers, in two separate locations.  A DVD-based data library is also created for your clinic; DVD discs containing your archived data are sent to your clinic on a monthly basis, providing you a hard copy of your intellectual property, and eliminating disaster recovery worries.

Network Connectivity

Let Asteris provide you with the hardware required to connect and centralize disparate modalities.  Our partnerships with leading-edge technology companies including Kodak Health Group, FUJIFILM Medical Systems, Hallmarq MRI Systems, Double Black Imaging, and Dell allow us to acquire computers, monitors, digital imaging systems, and other peripherals at significant discounts, which we pass on to your clinic.

Centralized Image Viewing

View images from all your modalities at a single workstation, or at multiple locations.  Asteris can recommend, acquire, and install high-performance image viewing stations at one or several network accessible locations.

Training

MDS deployment includes thorough on-site training on all the pertinent hardware and software technologies.  Our friendly and knowledgeable staff will take a simple, hands-on approach to show you and your clinic’s personnel how to utilize MDS in the most efficient manner, streamlining productivity and eliminating technical concerns.

Technical Support

The success of your clinic is vital to the success of our company.  We achieve this by providing top-quality services backed with unrivalled technical support.  Asteris employs a first-tier technical support help desk, available 24/7/365.  Issues regarding all MDS elements, including hardware and software, are addressed on a personal level; calls are not transferred to other departments or to third-party companies.

What is MDS?

Asteris Modality Distribution System (MDS©) is a comprehensive suite of image collection and distribution solutions designed to simplify small or large-scale digital imaging systems and enhance veterinary practice workflow.  Designed for veterinarians by veterinarians, MDS provides real-time access, storage, and distribution of images and studies to both a local computer and off-site archive locations, with real-time internet access.

How is MDS different from the storage solutions offered by hardware vendors?

Unlike onsite server solutions that require significant investment in expensive PACS and server hardware, MDS leverages the existing IT infrastructure within a veterinary practice, thereby minimizing onsite hardware requirements and virtually eliminating ongoing maintenance costs.  To simplify accounting, Asteris structures MDS pricing in a manner such that the cost can be passed directly to the client.

Does MDS work with multiple modalities?

MDS was designed to work within practices employing modalities of all types.  It also boasts an impressive vendor list, including Fuji, Agfa, Kodak, Hallmarq MRI, Idexx, Eklin, Sound Technologies, Vetel, Mirage, and MyLab. Within most MDS clinics, Asteris has set up one or more workstations that utilize the MDS software to collect data from the disparate modalities for centralized viewing.

How is the MDS offsite archiving solution different from others?

The MDS approach is different for several reasons: Asteris’s patent-pending “Package and Transport” mechanism not only secures your data as it travels over the internet to the Asteris Data Center, but also transfers the file in less than half of the time as any other solution, without any compromise of image quality. Once a file is received by the data center, it is opened and verified for integrity. Should the image ever be modified after leaving the clinic, MDS will detect the discrepancy and alert the clinic accordingly. Once an image has been packaged, it can only be opened with a valid MDS user name and password.  If necessary, the image can be exported back to its native format by an authenticated user. Once archived, images can be accessed by an authenticated user on the Asteris web site.  While online data access itself is not unique, the simplistic and thorough data search routines are, as are the options offered to download or import DICOM data directly into common viewing software.

What about my legal liability for retaining diagnosable data?

MDS is the only solution providing redundant sources of data directly to the veterinary practice.  Veterinary practices employing MDS receive two copies of a searchable password-protected DVD library containing their data archived during the past month.  One copy is for onsite and offsite use, the other is to be stored offsite in a secure, element-proof location.  For further redundancy, Asteris backs up your data daily, and stores copies in both Colorado and New York.

How do I rebuild my image database in the event of a disaster at my clinic?

The MDS DVD library can be used to import your images back into any DICOM viewer or PACS system.  Some vendors offer a download of all your data from their offsite servers; with a full T1 connection, this could take days or even weeks, depending on volume.

Does MDS have a solution for sending images to other veterinarians or specialists?

MDS Community© is an unrivaled program that simplifies sending images to any party with an email address.  Images can be dragged directly from the Merge eFilm Thumbnail Panel, or entire studies can be added from the Community Study List, which is populated directly from the eFilm database.  Sending DICOM images through the internet has never been so easy.

What if the person I sent the images to doesn’t know how to import or open them?

No problem – MDS Community only sends an email containing a link to the pertinent images on the Asteris web site.  From this link, the recipient can download or view the JPEG images, or automatically import the DICOM images directly into Merge eFilm, Osirix, and soon EponaTech Metron.

To accommodate the needs of your practice and the dynamic demands of your digital imaging systems, Asteris offers two different plans for archiving your images and study data.  At an affordable price, the Basic Archiving Plan simply fulfils your legal liabilities by providing you with secure and automatic off-site archiving.  A copy of all the images archived during a one-month period will be sent to your clinic on a DVD.  In addition to being a sound disaster recovery tool, The DVD also offers an image library application that can search and display the images it contains.  The Advanced Archiving plan includes the same features as the Basic Plan, but also allows your practice to transfer study data to other veterinarians and specialists via a simplistic application.  A second copy of the monthly DVD is also provided to your practice for quick reference or travel use.

Archiving Plan Comparison:

	Basic Plan	Advanced Plan
Setup fee	Varies by practice needs.	Varies by practice needs.
Cost	See pricing plans on the following page.	See pricing plans on the following page.
Monthly archive DVD
Second monthly archive DVD
Images retained at Asteris Archive*
MDS Community (study emailer)
Online Data Access/Viewing
Support	Limited to inquiries regarding data archiving.	Complete – covers all matter regarding archiving, Asteris software, archive data access, and disaster recovery.