Traditional PACS Viewer vs. Streaming PACS Viewer: Main Differences

Today's medical teams have to do more exams in less time. If your team is considering a new DICOM viewing system, you must balance the equipment's cost with how flexible it'll make your team's daily work.

Using a web-based system expands access and reduces the administrative burden for staff. This setup helps providers in various care settings strengthen their diagnostic responsiveness.

Learn more about traditional PACS viewers versus streaming PACS viewers here to make an informed choice.

How Traditional PACS Viewers Work

Traditional picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) viewers are desktop applications installed on hospital workstations. Each viewer connects to on-site servers, allowing your staff to access digital images such as magnetic resonance MRIs and CT scans. The platform uses the DICOM standard to support high-resolution image review within your facility's network.

What Is a Streaming PACS Viewer?

A streaming PACS viewer is a web-based medical imaging application that delivers high-fidelity 2D and 3D DICOM images from a centralized server to your secure browser. Using a streaming viewer means you don't need to install software on your devices. Your staff can access diagnostic studies online, through authorized desktop or mobile devices.

The platform renders images on the server and shares interactive visual data to the browser session. Your team can review exams and navigate series in real time or adjust image parameters as needed. Your organization's data stays secure while it's shared across facilities, thanks to centralized control over app updates and performance.

Differences Between Streaming PACS and Traditional PACS

The differences between streaming and traditional PACS come down to user access and how the system works on your devices. One depends on localized infrastructure, while the other supports web-based availability.

Speed and Performance

Streaming PACS and traditional PACS differ in how they deliver images and their responsiveness. The more exams your staff have to do, the more they rely on consistent performance from the system.

Traditional: With a traditional PACS, hospitals use dedicated workstations to process large image files on their networks. Your staff can retrieve and review complete studies from the servers on your premises. The downside is that when your storage systems or hardware reach their capacity, accessing and viewing images can be slow.
Streaming: A streaming PACS is a browser-based viewer that renders high-quality images from a centralized server across a secure internet or intranet connection. The system loads images on demand without transferring entire files, so your staff can view images and take action quickly.

Network Traffic and Bandwidth

Network traffic design affects how imaging data flows throughout the company. Its setup determines whether studies circulate repeatedly or stay in a centralized storage location.

Traditional: Large DICOM studies transfer from on-site servers to whichever workstations request them, with every user request adding more traffic and increasing bandwidth demand.
Streaming: Central servers retain the imaging data and stream only the required visual information, limiting repeated file transfers and maintaining steadier bandwidth usage.

Accessibility and Flexibility

In terms of access, there are some big distinctions between streaming PACS and traditional PACS in daily clinical use. The system you choose determines where your clinicians can review imaging studies and how easily available the data is to people across your organization.

Traditional: Software runs on designated on-site workstations inside the hospital firewall, so images can only be accessed on approved machines connected to the local network.
Streaming: A browser-based viewer doesn't need software installation and allows images to be reviewed from hospitals, imaging centers, home offices or remote locations through secure browser sessions.

Maintenance and IT Overhead

Operational support requirements are something to consider when comparing traditional PACS viewers versus streaming PACS viewers. The type of viewer you choose affects your update cycles and your staff's ongoing technical workload.

Traditional: Applications take time to install, configure and upgrade periodically on each workstation, while on-premises servers need continuous security management and hardware checks from IT teams.
Streaming: Browser-based viewers don't need software. The centralized server updates automatically, reducing maintenance needs and lowering administrative time across all company locations.

Collaboration and Workflow

The platform's design influences worklist management and changes the way your team collaborates across departments and locations.

Traditional: Integrated medical records and radiology information systems provide patient context, but shared worklists and status updates often need manual coordination between users.
Streaming: A multiuser platform means various users have access to the same data, with role-based permissions and secure image exchange making it easy to collaborate.

Why ImageGrid StreamVue? Candelis' Take on Streaming PACS Viewing

Candelis' ImageGrid StreamVue uses pixel streaming to deliver diagnostic-quality images. This system's centralized processing supports both single-location sites and businesses with multiple offices.

Image delivery: ImageGrid StreamVue processes imaging studies on ImageGrid infrastructure and streams only the required visual information instead of full datasets, lowering network strain.
Lightweight viewing: Your team can open studies in a browser or multiscreen application without specific software, maintaining a streamlined environment with diagnostic tools.
Distributed access: Centralized connections to the ImageGrid system allow your staff to view images from wherever they work.
Collaborative environments: Role-based permissions and roaming preferences streamline communications between your team and referring providers.
Modality coverage: The extensive coverage includes mammograms, CT scans, MRIs and ultrasounds, with the ability to review images on desktops, laptops and lower-power devices.

How to Evaluate if You're Ready to Move From Traditional to Streaming

If you're noticing slower workflows or increased stress amongst your staff, it might be time for a formal infrastructure review. Performance issues, support demands and access limitations can be an indication that your existing system isn't working as well as it used to. These signs may show that you're ready to move to a streaming PACS viewer:

Performance delays: Image loading times increase. It becomes harder and slower to browse images when searching.
Rising support burden: Help desk tickets become more frequent, so IT teams have to devote more hours to workstation updates and troubleshooting.
Hardware pressure: Desktop refresh cycles accelerate, and upgrade decisions center on viewer performance requirements.
Distributed access needs: Your team requests multisite image access, and on-call staff members require dependable remote review capabilities.
Network constraints: Limited bandwidth reduces loading speed and delays file transfers between departments.

When several of these indicators appear together, it may be time to upgrade to a centrally managed platform that can support the workload and handle future growth.

Learn More From Candelis

Healthcare technology continues to change, and imaging infrastructure must adapt to it. Comparing a traditional PACS viewer versus a streaming PACS viewer shows how expectations have evolved, from who gets access to images and how collaboration works between departments or companies.

At Candelis, we support modern imaging environments with ImageGrid StreamVue, a browser-based viewing platform built for businesses with multiple locations. Legacy desktop systems rely on fixed workstations and localized networks — our streaming system gives your team remote access and coordinated image review across your different facilities.

Contact Candelis today to schedule a demonstration of the ImageGrid platform streaming viewer and learn how it can help streamline your business's workflows.