Adaptation of DICOM to an operational PACS

Image communication between PACS applications and radiologic imaging equipment has always been difficult due to the proprietary communication protocols and data formats used by the individual manufacturers. With the introduction of DICOM, image communication among PACS components and radiologic imaging devices becomes feasible. We have integrated our PACS into a DICOM-compliant system that facilitates the communication of radiologic images between individual PACS components and radiologic imaging equipment. The image communication software implemented in our PACS was based on the Mallinckrodt's central test node software with several enhanced features. These features included dual network interface support, adjustable TCP buffer size, prioritizing job control, and computer host verification. The enhanced DICOM-based communication software has demonstrated a reliable yet efficient transfer for images in a PACS environment. This paper describes our implementation strategy of adapting DICOM to the UCSF PACS and the utilization of DICOM in the PACS operation.