Starlink Compatible

Diagnostic radiology. Just add clear sky.

Sirona announced support for SpaceX's Starlink network in 2023. The platform runs in Chrome and streams images from the cloud, so the connection can be a satellite dish: a rural clinic, a mobile unit, or a backup link.

See Sirona in Action

How Sirona is Different

The last geographic constraint on radiology is gone

Legacy PACS requires a wired network connection to an on-premise server, often over a VPN with strict bandwidth requirements. Take that laptop to a cabin and you can't read. Sirona streams images over a global CDN with progressive image streaming: the first image is up while the rest of the study arrives, the way a video starts playing before it has finished downloading. There is no on-premise server for the laptop to reach and no VPN client to hold open, so the connection only has to be an internet connection. We recommend a business-class connection of 50 Mbps or better, and Starlink is one way to get that where wired broadband doesn't reach.

How Sirona works over satellite

Progressive image streaming, zero on-premise infrastructure, and a global CDN make Sirona well suited to variable-bandwidth connections.

Progressive Image Streaming

Images stream progressively, and studies are pre-cached from your worklist and hanging protocols, so the first image is up while the rest arrives. No waiting for a full download.

Global CDN

Images are delivered from AWS infrastructure close to the reader, so distance from the archive doesn't dictate how fast a study opens.

Zero On-Premise Infrastructure

No PACS server, no SAN, no VPN client. Just a laptop running Chrome with the Sirona RadOS Manager extension, and an internet connection. The entire platform lives in the cloud.

Priority-Ordered Delivery

Satellite bandwidth varies with weather and congestion. The image in front of you is always fetched first, and the rest of the stack is prefetched behind it.

Disaster Recovery Connectivity

Starlink operates independently from terrestrial ISPs, so it can serve as a second path to Sirona when your primary internet goes down.

Rural & Remote Access

Critical access hospitals and mobile imaging units in areas without broadband can run a full diagnostic radiology platform over Starlink.

Satellite-ready by design, not by accident

Streaming

Diagnostic images that stream like video

Sirona streams diagnostic images rather than making you download the study first — the same principle that lets video start playing before it has finished arriving. Images are delivered progressively from cloud infrastructure close to the reader, and studies are pre-cached from your worklist and hanging protocols, so the first image is up while the rest arrives. No waiting for a complete download.

Progressive image loading — the first image is up while the rest arrives

Pre-cached from your worklist and hanging protocols

The image in front of you is always fetched first

The same streaming engine for every Sirona customer, whatever the connection

Resilience

Your practice doesn't go dark when your ISP does

Starlink operates on a completely separate infrastructure from terrestrial internet providers. When a fiber cut, a provider outage, or a natural disaster takes down your primary connection, Starlink keeps working. For practices that depend on continuous reading — emergency radiology, stroke protocols, overnight teleradiology — this is a practical continuity plan for your clinical workflow. Set up a Starlink dish as a backup connection, and your radiologists have a second way to reach Sirona. There is no on-premise server to fail over, because there is no on-premise server.

Independent satellite infrastructure — no shared failure points with terrestrial ISPs

A second path to the same cloud platform, with nothing on site to fail over

Covers natural disaster scenarios where ground infrastructure is damaged

Access

Enterprise radiology for places without broadband

There are thousands of critical access hospitals, rural clinics, and mobile imaging units in areas where reliable broadband doesn't exist. These facilities typically can't run a modern PACS because legacy systems require dedicated infrastructure and stable, high-bandwidth connections. Sirona on Starlink changes that equation. A rural hospital in Montana can get the same diagnostic viewer, the same AI-powered reporter, and the same 24/7 support as a health system in New York. On the reading side, the only hardware is a laptop and a satellite dish.

Full diagnostic platform — viewer, reporter, worklist, AI — over satellite

No on-site IT infrastructure required

Same diagnostic-quality viewer regardless of connection type

Opens teleradiology markets in regions without terrestrial broadband

Setup

From shipping crate to first read, without a server

A standard Starlink kit ships with everything needed to get online: dish, router, cables, base. Mount the dish with line of sight to the sky, plug in the router, and you have internet. From there it's Chrome, the Sirona RadOS Manager extension, and a Sirona login — no PACS server to configure, no VPN client to install, no images to migrate to the device. Connecting the site's modalities to Sirona uses an encrypted tunnel or an edge router, which we configure for you.

Standard Starlink kit: dish, router, cables — no extra hardware

No on-site PACS server or SAN to deploy or maintain

Runs in Google Chrome on Windows, macOS, and Linux

Repeatable across rural clinics, mobile units, or temporary sites

Connectivity that keeps up

2023

Sirona announced general support for SpaceX's Starlink network

50 Mbps

or better recommended — a business-class connection, wired or satellite

PACS servers or SANs needed at the reading site

Multi-AZ

high-availability architecture, regardless of connection type

Radiology without geographic limits

Starlink in Action: Sirona's 2023 Launch Event from Mount Wilson

Sirona announced RadOS at RSNA 2021 and made it generally available in 2023. To show how being built different changes everything about where and how you practice, we filmed our 2023 launch demo at 10,000 ft above sea level — at the base of Mount Wilson in Telluride, Colorado.

All you need is internet and power

“The great thing about Sirona is its accessibility. All you need is internet and power — from my side of the standpoint, Sirona provides all the rest. Sirona infrastructure is cloud-based. I need to log in to a web browser, and I can immediately start reading studies. It has an integrated reporter. I can immediately start dictating studies, and I can send back my reports instantaneously. Every component, every possible need that I had in order to provide the best care possible — in order to provide my vision to the people of North Dakota — was easily attainable through Sirona.”

Dr. Luke Roller

President, IMC

Read the ERA case study

FAQs

Can I really read diagnostic studies over Starlink?

Yes. Sirona announced general support for Starlink in 2023 and filmed its launch demo over a Starlink connection in Telluride, Colorado. Images load progressively, so the first image is up while the rest of the study arrives, and the final image is full diagnostic quality. Diagnostic interpretation requires a calibrated display, as it does on any connection.

What Starlink speeds does Sirona need?

Our guidance is the same for every connection: Google Chrome and a business-class connection of 50 Mbps or better. A Starlink plan that delivers that where you are will run Sirona. The image in front of you is always fetched first, and the rest of the stack is prefetched behind it.

Can I use Starlink as a backup if my primary internet goes down?

Yes. Starlink runs on satellite infrastructure independent of terrestrial ISPs, so it gives your radiologists a second path to Sirona. There is nothing on premise to fail over: they reconnect over the backup link and pick up from the worklist.

Does this work for rural hospitals without broadband?

That's exactly the use case. A critical access hospital with no wired broadband can run Sirona's full platform — diagnostic viewer, reporter, and unified worklist — over Starlink, with a laptop running Chrome and a satellite dish on the reading side. No PACS server and no SAN on site.

Is there any loss of diagnostic quality over satellite?

No. Images load progressively, but the final image is full diagnostic quality. The streaming approach affects speed of initial display — not the resolution or accuracy of what you see once the image is fully loaded.

What about satellite latency for dictation and reporting?

When Sirona announced Starlink support in 2023, we tested dictation over Starlink Business and speech-to-text stayed responsive; the measurements are in that press release. Low-earth-orbit links like Starlink add far less delay than older geostationary satellite internet.