Introduction

The LEADTOOLS DICOM C API provides dynamic link library (DLL) functions to let you incorporate DICOM support into your Windows applications. DICOM File Support,  DICOM Data Set Support, Image Processing, Image Acquisition, Display, and Output, and DICOM Security are available with all Medical Imaging products. DICOM Communication support is available only with the full PACS Imaging.

LEADTOOLS Medical Imaging and LEADTOOLS PACS Imaging SDKs have everything programmers need to develop a complete DICOM Medical Imaging Solution. Create any DICOM Layer Actor in the IHE Framework; add support for any DICOM service; capture images from TWAIN, Screen, Video for Windows (VfW) driver, DV (Digital Video) driver and WDM driver sources; print via Windows printer driver or DICOM Print SCP; display 1-64 bit images including automatic zoom, pan and scroll functionally; process 1-64 bit image data; stream image or video data to a DICOM dataset; load, save and convert DICOM to any of over 100 image formats; as well as image annotation including functionality to create overlays; and convert DICOM datasets to AVI/MPEG files.

DICOM File Support

LEADTOOLS Medical Imaging provides COMPLETE support for the DICOM 2003 specification, including all standard IOD classes and modalities (CR, CT, MR, NM, US, RF, SC, VL, etc.) and complete DICOM Basic Directory support.

Key Features:

• Support for 8, 10, 12, 16, 32-bit grayscale and 24 bit images including JPEG (8, 10, 12, 16-bit Lossless grayscale, 8, 12 bit lossy grayscale, 24-bit lossless and lossy color), JPEG2000 (including lossy and lossless 8-16 bit grayscale images and 24-bit color) Run Length, Uncompressed, Photometric Interpretation (Monochrome1, Monochrome2, Palletized, RGB, ARGB, CMYK, YBR Full 422, YBR Full, YBR_RCT, YBR_ICT), and single and multi-frame images.

• Get, Set and Insert Single or Multiframe Images (compressed or uncompressed)

• Compression Technology:  MPEG-2 DICOM compression, JPEG2000 (Lossy and lossless), JPEG (Lossy and lossless), RLE  Note: All JPEG and JPEG2000 compression has support for 12 and 16 bit Grayscale images.

• DICOM Waveforms including electrocardiography (ECG) ,hemodynamic curve data, cardiac electrophysiology, and audio signals (WAV files).

• Over 150 (import/export) file formats such as:  JFIF/ JTIF, PSD, MODCA/IOCA, PTOCA, JPEG 2000, PNG, GIF, JBIG, BMP, TIFF, TGA, AVI, MPEG1 Layer 3 Audio (MP3), Quick Time, Windows Media (WMA, WMV), WAV

DICOM Data Set Support

LEADTOOLS provides a number of functions for maneuvering through the Data Set, getting and setting Data Set information, getting and setting Data Element values, searching the Data Set, and creating, loading and saving Data Sets. It includes full support for DICOM directories, overlays, modality LUT, VOI LUT and Palette Color Tables, DICOM Waveforms, Context Groups, and Digital Signatures.

Key Features:

• Change one transfer syntax to another with one function call.

• Simply Create/Initialize complete Data Sets (all modules and elements) for any IOD class, and load and save data sets with or without header, using any Transfer Syntax.

•  The high-level support for Modality LUT, VOI LUT, Palette Color Image in LEADTOOLS Medical Imaging means developers can implement DICOM Presentation states into an application with ease.

• Comprehensive support for the DICOM Digital Signature Profiles, which include: Base RSA Digital Signature Profile , Creator RSA Digital Signature Profile and Authorization RSA Digital Signature Profile .

Key Capabilities:

• DICOM LUT/Overlay/Palette support.

  • Detect and set LowBit and HighBit for image data, display images with automatic LUT intensity expansion.

  • Set LUT entries and ranges with specific values and gradients.

  • Apply the Modality LUT to the image data to further simplify image processing and statistical calculations.

  • Display images through the LUT without changing data, or process the image data using the LUT.

• Maneuver Through the IOD Table.

  • Search the IOD Table.

  • Insert and Delete IODs.

  • Modify an Existing IOD.

  • Set the Default IOD Table.

• Maneuver Through the Data Element TagTable.

  • Search the Data Element Tag Table.

  • Insert and Delete Tags.

  • Modify an Existing Tag.

  • Set the Default Data Element Tag Table.

• Maneuver Through the UID Table.

  • Search the UID Table.

  • Insert and Delete UIDs.

  • Modify an Existing UID.

  • Set the Default UID Table.

• Maneuver Through the Value Representation Table.

  • Search the Value Representation Table.

  • Insert and Delete Value Representations.

  • Modify an Existing Value Representation.

  • Set the Default Value Representation Table.

• Maneuver through a Data Set in Tree or List mode.

  • Search a Data Set

  • Insert and Delete Data Set Members.

  • Get and Set Data Element Values.

  • Get and Set Data Set Information.

• Maneuver through Basic Directory Data Set in Tree or List mode.

  • Insert and Delete Keys in a Basic Directory Data Set

  • Get and Set Keys in a Basic Directory Data Set

  • High-level objects to create DICOMDIR in few lines of code.

Image Processing

• Specialized Medical Image Processing:  MRI Brain Analysis Tool, Unsharp-Mask, Contour Filter, Spatial Filter, Combine filter, Edge Detection, Intensity Detect, 16-bit Gray Histogram, Remap Intensity, Median Filter, Min Max Filter, Create Region by color range or seed pixel many more supports 10-16-bit grayscale image, Adaptive Contrast, Digital Subtract, Add Weighted Bitmaps, Local Histogram Equalize, Edge Detect Statistical, Segment , Skeleton Bitmap, Correlation, Fourier Transform, Multi Scale Enhancement, Shift Data, Get Region Contour Points, Get Region Perimeter Length, Get Curve Points, Change Hue Saturation Intensity , Colorize Gray , Contrast Brightness Intensity , Get Bitmap Statistics Info, Math Function, Intensity Detect.

• General Image Processing: Edge Detect Effect Brightness/Contrast, Gamma correction, Remap Intensities, Flip, Invert Colors, Histogram Equalize, Hue and Saturation, Color balancing, Sharpen & Blur, Combine, Anti-Alias, Auto Trim, Reduce Noise, and many more.

• DICOM Annotation Object support:  Store/retrieve DICOM annotations from a dataset and convert them to LEAD Annotation objects and vice versa. Annotations can also be converted to regions of interest for additional statistical calculations and for storing to DICOM Presentation State.

• Document Mark-Up (Annotations): Ruler, Poly-Ruler, Line, Poly-Line, Pointer, Circle, Free-hand, Note, Protractor, Point and many more.

Image Acquisition, Display, and Output

• Tele-radiology and Telemedicine support: LEADTOOLS comes with fully functional web-based, DICOM-enabled medical/radiology viewer.

• High-level Medical Display Container that cuts the time to build medical display applications such as DICOM viewers and high-end diagnostic workstations by half. Includes flip, region of interest, zoom in/out, rotate, resample and bicubic painting, ROP codes, window level, and palette handling.

• Image Scanning: TWAIN (scanners, digital cameras, capture cards), Scan 12/16-bit Grayscale, High Speed Document Scanning (up to 48-bit Color), Scan via ADF or Flatbed, Ability to extract individual slices from a radiographic scanned film.

•  Fully functional web-based, DICOM-enabled medical/radiology viewer demo.

• Database Imaging:  Data Binding, Read/Write Memory File, SQL

• Multimedia: Video/Audio Playback; Capture from WDM, VFW or DV output; MJPEG, JPEG2000, Wavelet, and H.263, H.264, MPEG-2, MPEG-4 Codecs (encoding/decoding); Direct show Filters; Screen Capture; Conversion;  DVD burning and image creation.

• DICOM Print SCU support :Add full DICOM printing support to an application in minutes with the new high-level DICOM Print support. Any Windows or DICOM printer, Complete control over positioning and size, print text and drawing.

DICOM Security

LEADTOOLS DICOM Security supports the Secure Transport Connection Profiles as specified in part 15 of the DICOM 2003 standard. Included in this add-on is support for TLS secure transport connection profile and ISCL Secure transport connection profile. The LEADTOOLS DICOM Security support eliminates the need of a VPN (virtual private network) for secure communication to comply with HIPAA regulations.

Use LEADTOOLS DICOM Security to encrypt sensitive data between DICOM nodes that you develop or existing nodes that support TLS or ISCL connection profiles.

HIPAA Privacy and Security required compliance by April 14, 2003 with standards for guarding data integrity, confidentiality and availability for any application that maintains or transmits individual health data. LEADTOOLS DICOM Security allows for quick, accurate, and complete implementation of security functions that will ensure an application connected to the Internet will be HIPAA compliant. Three areas of risk as well as computer/entity authentication, confidentiality and data integrity are addressed with the LEADTOOLS DICOM Security for efficient 128-bit encryption implementation.

TLS Connection Profile

ISCL Connection Profile

 DICOM Communications Support

LEADTOOLS DICOM Communications provides COMPLETE support for DICOM Communications, including all Service Classes (Verification, Storage, Query/Retrieve, Patient Management, etc.), and contains high-level communications functions simplifying the creation of DICOM client/server applications.

Key Features:

• Powerful high-level features that simplify the creation of DICOM client/server applications.

• Support for TCP/IP multiple clients and multiple servers, working in Asynchronous or Synchronous mode.

• High-level functions for initiating and terminating Associations (connections between DICOM applications), automating the process of filling out PDU structures (Protocol Data Units).

• Automatic and transparent conversion of DICOM Data Sets to/from the specific Transfer Syntax required by the associated Application Entities (the connected DICOM client(s) and server(s)).

• High-level functions that automate sending DICOM Request and Response Command Sets (Services), greatly simplifying the process of coding application communications.

• Complete support for Message Exchange, including DIMSE (DICOM Message Service Element) service user and provider, and Message Exchange Upper Layer Protocol.

Key Capabilities:

• Create and initialize a DICOM Network Connection.

• Retrieve information about the DICOM Network Connection.

• Create a DICOM Associate Connection to allow the transfer of data and messages.

• Customize the DICOM Associate Connection for the type of data you wish to transfer and the manner in which to transfer the data.

• Retrieve information about the DICOM Associate Connection.

• Send and receive messages using either high-level or low-level functions.

• Full Support for all DICOM Service Classes, including:

  • Verification

  • Storage

  • Query/Retrieve

  • Study Content Notification

  • Patient Management

  • Study Management

  • Results Management

  • Print Management

  • Media Storage

  • Storage Commitment

  • Basic Worklist Management

  • Queue Management

• Support for all DICOM Message Service Elements (DIMSE)

• Support for DIMSE-C services associated with composite SOP Classes:

  • C Store Request

  • C Store Response

  • C Find Request

  • C Find Response

  • C Get Request

  • C Get Response

  • C Move Request

  • C Move Response

  • C Cancel Request

  • C Echo Request

  • C Echo Response

• Support for DIMSE-N services associated with normalized SOP Classes and provide an extended set of operations and notifications:

  • N Event Report Request

  • N Event Report Response

  • N Get Request

  • N Get Response

  • N Set Request

  • N Set Response

  • N Action Request

  • N Action Response

  • N Create Request

  • N Create Response

  • N Delete Request

  • N Delete Response

• When using DICOM Messages, AE's can serve in one of two roles:

  • Invoking DIMSE-service-user (SCU)

  • Performing DIMSE-service-user (SCP)

Supported Environments

LEADTOOLS comes in Win32 (x86), x64 and ARM editions. The environments supported depend upon the specific product, platform and function. For more information, refer to Supported Platforms / Operating Systems.

LEADTOOLS provides both UNICODE-only and ANSI-only versions of the C API DICOM .dll files. For information on the required .dll name and import library, please refer to Files To Be Included With Your Application.

For more information, refer to:

Overview of the DICOM File Format

DICOM Network Communication Support for Message Exchange

Programming with LEADTOOLS DICOM

Demo Programs