DICOM

DICOM stands for Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine. It is an international standard for storing, transmitting, and presenting medical images and related information. The standard defines both a file format for medical images and a network communication protocol that enables different devices and software to exchange data across a Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) and other clinical information systems. DICOM combines image data with structured metadata describing the patient, imaging procedure, equipment, and image parameters, using a layered information model of patients, studies, series, and instances. Central to DICOM is the concept of a Service-Object Pair (SOP) and SOP Classes, which specify available services such as image storage (C-STORE), query (C-FIND), retrieve (C-MOVE), and modality worklist services. Data are identified by Unique Identifiers (UIDs) and organized with data elements in a DICOM data set. The standard supports both uncompressed and compressed pixel data and allows for various transfer syntaxes and encoding methods.

DICOM originated in the 1980s from the ACR/NEMA standards and evolved into the modern DICOM framework used today. It remains a practical foundation for interoperability in medical imaging workflows and is widely deployed across modalities such as CT, MR, ultrasound, and nuclear medicine. DICOM is designed to integrate imaging data with information systems, enabling archiving, retrieval, printing, and cross-institution sharing within and between healthcare facilities.

The standard is published as a multi-part document and is maintained by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) with alignment to ISO/IEC specifications. Its ongoing development supports compatibility across vendors and devices, contributing to standardized imaging workflows, data integrity, and patient safety.