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Do dicom files have some type of error checking mechanism?
We are having trouble with losing images out of series and whole series missing when an exam is read. Do dicom files have some type of error checking functionality like a parity bit for binary data or MD5 checksum?
We seem to lose images and series both when the study is sent from the modality to the PACS and when I load the study. In the first case if I reload the study the missing components are still missing, in the second when I reload the study the missing components will be there. It seems strange to me that there is no error checking in the system.
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5 Replies
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The dicom study exchange does not have any error checking which is by design as one could add images or series any time after the initial transfer. That is why dicom has defined MPPS to exchange the imag count and Storage Commitment to turn over responsibility for archiving.
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Mr Oosterwijk
Would you be willing to address this question on a discussion level. If this is the incorrect forum for such a discussion or if you’d prefer to have the conversation elsewhere I’d be happy to accommodate.
As you’ve previously stated, in other venues, MPPS/ SC is very poorly supported/implemented across the industry. With that in mind, how can we (consultants, vendors, PACS admins… etc) in real life scenarios guarantee full and correct study transmission?
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Image loss is a real problem that can be traced to product defects and other causes. FDA MAUDE database also has reported incidents of loss. [link=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4441693/]Losing Images in Digital Radiology: More than You Think[/link]
-Doug-
MPPS has some interoperability issues but some providers successfully deploy it assuming you configure it correctly at the SCU and SCP and assuming it is sent timely, the dicom conformance statement will show you. SC is relatively easy to configure, make sure you configure both sides to match single or dual Association, that would be my first choice. A poor man’s version would be for the tech to log into the pacs and do an image count and compare. However, you might want to troubleshoot the connection using a dicom sniffer and see if there is something going on such as an unexpected reset, images should not really be lost, so root cause finding might be good. If some of this sounds foreign, I am teaching a Dicom class, see siim.org for schedule, we teach handson troubleshooting.
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One big problem I have come across is some PACS rejecting images containing retired fields.
Removing those retired fields that do not contain any relevant info, or copying to a private tag first, then removing them, is a pain, but can be done and transfers then are successful for this type issue.
Definitely need to activate some logging and figure out the why of the images not being stored before you can even start on a solution.
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