The development of a DICOM import software and Modality Calculators for Radiology Protocols

• Main Author: Chen, Jiawen
• Other Authors: Magnotta, Vincent A.
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: University of Iowa 2015
• Subjects: bioimaging; database; DICOM import; medical imaging protocols; modality calculator; Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering
• Online Access: https://ir.uiowa.edu/etd/5728; https://ir.uiowa.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=7206&context=etd

Medical imaging can involve different modalities, such as computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), and ultrasound. Each examination generated by these modalities has a set of unique instructions, the imaging protocol, which are imaging parameters determine the signal and contrast for creating a particular medical image. Properly managing imaging protocols is like systemically documenting an instruction handbook, which guarantees the quality of scans by providing the radiologist and technicians with appropriate procedures for a given indication. It also ensures patients’ safety by reducing repeated scans to acquire the desired image information. Radiology Protocols (RP) is a company that provides an online medical protocol database to improve protocol management. It recently developed RP Import, an imaging protocol import software, to automatically collecting elements from the medical imaging file – Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) files, and mapping them to the specified protocol database. With the help of RP Import, protocol creation is much faster and eliminates manual definition of the parameters, thus this tool lays the foundation of the further development of imaging protocol management. Radiology Protocols also developed a series of Modality Calculators to assist radiologists and technicians to build or modify imaging protocols as they are needed. These calculators cover most of the essential medical parameter calculations associated with different modalities. By using them, computing specific parameters while editing protocols becomes more convenient, and determining the use and amount of certain medical parameters becomes more precise as well. In summary, RP Import and Modality Calculators are two meaningful tools in protocol management, and they also play very important roles in regulating procedure and dosage during the medical image practice.