Background and Identification
DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine) is the standard for the management and communication of medical imaging information and all related data in the medical industry. The core purpose of DICOM is to capture, store, and distribute medical images, so medical imaging devices such as scanners, printers, servers, workstations, and network hardware are sometimes integrated from several manufacturers. The DICOM standard also provides services such as managing imaging procedure worklists, printing images on a film or digital media, and reporting procedure status. DICOM has been widely adopted by hospitals and is also integrating into smaller applications like doctors’ and dentists’ offices.
DICOM files are designed to be exchanged between two entities capable of receiving patient and image data in DICOM format, such as two different hospitals. Different DICOM devices should come with DICOM Conformance Statements that state the DICOM classes supported by the device. The Conformance Statements include a file format definition and a network communications protocol that communicates between systems. The copyright to the published DICOM Conformance Standard is held by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA). NEMA was developed by the DICOM Standards Committee.
DICOM consists of various services, many of which involve the transmission of data over a network. These services include Store, Storage Commitment, Query/Retrieve, Modality Worklist, Modality-Performed Procedure Step, Print, and services for offline media files.