What is DICOM?
Who developed DICOM?
What implications does DICOM have on me?
How do I know that two DICOM devices will work together?
What is a DICOM Conformance Statement?
Should I ask for copies of DICOM Conformance Statements?
What is DICOM?
DICOM is an abbreviation for Digital Imaging and COmmunications in Medicine. DICOM is an accepted standard for transmitting medical images and associated information between devices in a medical environment.
Who developed DICOM?
DICOM is the result of a joint committee, with members from ACR (American College of Radiology) and NEMA (National Electrical Manufacturers Association), tasked to develop a standard for digital imaging and communications in medicine. DICOM was developed in liaison with other Standardization Organizations including CEN TC251 in Europe and JIRA in Japan, and with review by other organizations including IEEE, HL7 and ANSI in the USA.
What implications does DICOM have on me?
DICOM was developed with input from a broad range of international organizations concerned with the development of a standard that would be accepted world-wide by medical device manufacturers. DICOM is an open standard that can be used by any medical device manufacturer with a need to transmit and/or receive medical images and associated information from other devices—including devices made by other manufacturers. Eliminating dependencies on proprietary data formats and communication protocols makes it possible for devices such as printers, image archives, and specialized image display and analysis workstations to interface and work with data from a broad range of medical imaging devices. This often results in reduced cost, greater reliability and a better choice of devices for consumers.
How do I know that two DICOM devices will work together?
An important aspect of the DICOM standard is that manufacturers of DICOM compliant devices must prepare a “DICOM Conformance Statement” for each compliant device. Conformance statements must be made available to any interested party; this includes consumers and other device manufacturers. Compatibility of two DICOM devices is established by comparing the DICOM capabilities of each device to make sure that a consistent set of capabilities are supported by both devices so that the two devices can communicate.
What is a DICOM Conformance Statement?
The DICOM standard is extensive. It defines numerous methods for representing data and communicating that data between devices. Few, if any, medical devices need to support all aspects of the DICOM standard in order to perform the operations intended by the device manufacturer. Thus, the DICOM standard includes the definition of methods for constructing a “DICOM Conformance Statement” for each device. A conformance statement defines the DICOM services provided by a particular device as well as the DICOM services required of other DICOM devices in order for them to operate properly with the particular device.
Should I ask for copies of DICOM Conformance Statements?
Yes. It is always a good idea to obtain DICOM Conformance Statements for DICOM devices that you own or are considering purchasing. These provide you with documentation of the specific capabilities of particular devices, and it allows you to check that two particular DICOM devices should be able to communicate. Alternatively, copies of conformance statements for devices that you own can be provided to device manufacturers for a more complete evaluation of the level of compatibility between their device and your devices.