Supported DICOM images

Orthanc can receive/store/send any kind of standard DICOM files (cf. the DICOM conformance statement). Note that the UnknownSopClassAccepted configuration option can be set to true if interfacing with modalities that are producing non-standard SOP classes.

Orthanc Explorer can also display the raw DICOM tags of any such DICOM file.

For instance, DICOM-SR and DICOM-RT instances are supported by Orthanc, i.e. such file can be received/stored/retransmitted with Orthanc. However, if you need to analyze/create such files, you will have to resort on another specialized tool.

As far as pixel data is concerned, the core engine of Orthanc is not able to render all of the DICOM instances as PNG images. An image that Orthanc cannot decode is displayed as “Unsupported” by clicking on the “Preview” buttons of Orthanc Explorer. Currently, the core engine of Orthanc can decode:

  • uncompressed (raw) DICOM files,

  • JPEG DICOM files, and

  • JPEG-LS DICOM files.

The supported photometric interpretations are:

  • RGB,

  • Grayscale2,

  • YUV if dealing with JPEG derivatives.

The Orthanc core supports from 8bpp to 16bpp depth, with integer values. Multiframe (notably cine), uncompressed DICOM instances can also be displayed from Orthanc Explorer.

Other type of encodings are available in the Web viewer plugin, that mostly supports whatever is supported by the well-known GDCM toolkit by Mathieu Malaterre. Note however that multiframe (notably cine) DICOM instances are currently not supported by the Web viewer plugin.

Finally, consider having a look at the section in the Orthanc Book about the compatible DICOM viewers.