DirectDicomImport

MLModule

genre	FileMain, DICOM
author	Wolf Spindler
package	FMEstable/ReleaseMeVis
dll	MLDirectDicomImport
definition	MLDirectDicomImport.def
see also	MultiFileVolumeListBaseOutput, MultiFileVolumeListImageOutput, MultiFileVolumeListIteratorOutput, MultiFileVolumeListFilterOutputs, MultiFileVolumeListRTOutput, FileListFilterPlugin, ImageLoad, MLImageFormatLoad, ImageSave
keywords	DICOM, DCM, import, load, read, slices, reorder, tags, dump, compose, stack, collect, compile, frames, overlay

Purpose

DirectDicomImport is a MeVisLab module whose primary purpose is the import of DICOM and non-DICOM (image) objects. These are grouped, sorted, split, and composed to a MultiFileVolumeList under constraints defined as module parameters.

The import of DICOM files is performed via a call to the Dicom Processor Library (DPL) and result MultiFileVolumes can be passed to other MeVisLab modules without duplicating the original data or needing an intermediate image representation.

While this is the usage and parameter documentation of DirectDicomImport, a functional documentation can be found in Functional Description of DirectDicomImport.

Also many other image formats are imported, and - as well as DICOM files - are composed to volumes according to the DICOM tags or to the selected settings in the module parameters. See below for a list of supported formats.

Clicking in the Volumes list selects the output volume and double-clicking shows volume details.

Many options are available in Configuration window (opened with the Configuration button) to view, sort, analyze, and cache the generated image volumes and to pass any of them to the ML module output.

Output images are loaded on demand from the DICOM frames, and their content is not duplicated in an intermediate format. Thus pixel data is only read from DICOM frames when needed which reduce memory load.

Specialized FileListFilterPlugin modules can be connected to the Base input to (pre-)filter and classify files, DICOM trees and tags before importing them.

Specialized MultiFileVolumeList modules derived from MultiFileVolumeListBaseOutput modules can be connected to the Base output to provide access to more than one image in the volume table at once.

For import problems see the Details section.

Currently supported formats are listed below. Note that not all format versions can be read by all loaders.

Important: Some file types can only be read if the files have the correct suffix and are part of the suffix list in Explicit File Types.

For DICOM files the following order of loaders is tested:

• DirectDicomImport loader implemented internally
• ImageLoad
• itkImageFileReader

For non-DICOM files the following loader order is used:

• MLImageFormatLoad
• FileReaderPlugins installed in the ML Runtime Type System.
• ImageLoad
• itkImageFileReader

The following formats are supported:

• .mlimage files loaded by MLImageFormatLoad
• All formats loaded by ImageLoad:
  • .tif, .tiff -Tagged Interface File Format
  • .dcm/.tif - DICOM/TIFF
  • LUMISYS
  • .pnm - PNM
  • Analyze
  • .png - PNG
  • .jpg - JPEG
• All formats loaded by itkImageFileReader:
  • .img, .hdr, .img.gz - Analyze
  • .pic - BioRad
  • .bmp - Bitmap
  • .dcm, .dicom - Dicom
  • .gipl - Gipl
  • .jpg, .jpeg - JPEG
  • .lsm - Laser Scan Microscopy
  • .mha .mhd - MetaImage
  • .nrrd - Nearly Raw Raster Data
  • .nii - Nifti
  • .png - PNG
  • .spr - Stimulate
  • .tif, .tiff -Tagged Interface File Format
  • .vtk - VTK
  • Brains2MaskImageIO
  • GE4
  • GE5
  • IPL
  • MetaArray
  • SiemensVision
  • XML
• Files loaded by installed FileReaderPlugins which currently are
  • DMFileReader
    • .dm3 - Digital Microfocal files, version 3
    • .dm4 - Digital Microfocal files, version 4
  • HistoFileReaderPlugin histological/pathological image formats if HistoLoad module is available in the used installation
    • .btf, .tif, .tiff - BigTiff including JPEG2000
    • .czi - ZEISS Microscopy
    • .dzi - DeepZoomImage
    • .jp2 - JPEG2000
    • .mi - MeVisLab proprietary multi-scale image format
    • .mrxs - MIRAX
    • .svs - Aperio
    • .wsv - Whole Slide Image
  • XYLibReaderPlugin (tried last)
    • .1, .2, .3, .4, .5, .6, .7, .8, .9 - Spectra Omicron/Leybold
    • .asc - text loader
    • .chi - ChiPLOT data
    • .cif - Powder Diffraction CIF
    • .cnf - Canberra CNF
    • .cpi - Sietronics Sieray CPI
    • .csv - comma-separated values
    • .dat - Rigaku DAT, RIET7/ILL_D1A5/PSI_DMC DAT, Canberra MCA, or text loader
    • .dbw - DBWS data file
    • .gss - gsas, Standard Powder data file
    • .mca - Canberra MCA
    • .neu - DBWS data file
    • .raw - Siemens/Bruker RAW
    • .rd - Philips PC-APD RD Raw Scan
    • .rit - DBWS data file
    • .sd - Philips PC-APD RD Raw Scan
    • .spe - Princeton Instruments WinSpec
    • .tab - comma-separated values
    • .tsv - comma-separated values
    • .txt - text loader
    • .udf - Philips UDF
    • .uxd - Siemens/Bruker Diffrac-AT UXD
    • .vms - VAMAS ISO-14976
    • .xdd - XFIT XDD
    • .xy - SPECS Specslab2 xy

Usage

Select a source directory in the Source Dir or compose file/directory lists in Configuration -> Import Files or Configuration -> Import Directories.

• Then use the Import button to parse the source files and directories. This composes image volumes from the DICOM files in it and shows them in the Volumes list.
• Check the console and the Volumes list for issues and errors and other information and the generated image volumes.
• Select any composed volume by clicking on it. The selected volume is made available at output0 if it is of an image type; possible overlay contents become available at output1.
• Or double-click a volume to open a window with volume details about the selected volume. Update Volume Index in details to update details to another volume if needed.
• Consider also connecting modules such as MultiFileVolumeListIteratorOutput to process all or subsets of the volumes automatically, or to have multiple parallel outputs with modules such as MultiFileVolumeListImageOutput, MultiFileVolumeListSROutput or other modules derived from MultiFileVolumeListBaseOutput.

Details

Performance issues

There are several reasons why importing can become slow, the most important and typical ones are listed here:

• Problem: “A set of 100 MB DICOM files it imported in 1 second and another one of 300 MB takes 20 seconds. Why it is so much slower?”

  DirectDicomImport must load many parts of all DICOM files into memory to process and analyze their content. Since loading of this data is one of the most time consuming import steps a sophisticated caching strategy is used to optimize data reuse. If the cache, however, is too small to cache all imported files then multiply used data might not be cached and may have to be reloaded.

  Workarounds and solutions:

  • You may import the data in smaller steps, for example by importing one directory after another such that each imported chunk of data fits into the cache.
  • If you have enough main memory then consider increase Max Tree Cached MBs to be some larger than the imported data and and Max Tag Cached MBs to have about a third part of the size of Max Tree Cached MBs.

• Problem: “One data of 100 MB DICOM files it imported in 1 second and another one of the same size is much slower. Where the difference may come from?”

  Dependent of the content of the imported DICOM data DirectDicomImport perform some analysis steps to finalize the result data. There are three steps which may become time consuming:

  • Calculating the minimum and maximum voxel values in the image data. Most DICOM data files already provide these values as additional tag information (as smallest and largest pixel values tags) such that the DirectDicomImport can use them without further processing. However, some DICOM files do not provide them and then the default setting is to calculate them from the pixel data. This takes some time because all pixel data of those images have to be read and traversed.

• Decomposing multiframe files. If DirectDicomImport imports files of the newer enhanced multi-frame standard by decomposing them to single frame files to ensure correctly composed output volume. This costs time and temporary memory.
• Processing DICOM tags. The typical processing of DICOM tags in DirectDicomImport has an acceptable processing time, which, however, can degrade if there are large amounts of small tags or tags of huge sizes.

Workarounds or solutions:

• You may consider to disable the parsing of the image data (see Min/Max Calculation), which, for example, might not be needed if you have a MinMaxScan in your processing pipeline anyway. However, if no min/max calculation is performed, then such a deactivating has the risk that output min/max values are much too large or even wrong which may affect or corrupt many operations in MeVisLab.
• You may disable the decomposition of multi-frame files, see Decompose Multi Frame Files for details. Without this decomposition, however, there is the risk that the imported data has defects such as mirrored coordinate systems or incorrectly composed result volumes. Be aware of this before deactivating the decomposition.
• Some DirectDicomImport versions provide a connector for DicomModifyTagPlugins such as DicomModifyTagsPlugin or some more. These plugins can be used to modify or even remove these tags from the imported files before processing them. In the case of huge private tags this can speed up import performance significantly. The options Copy Private Top Level Source Tags and Remove private MFSQ tag can be used to remove private tags from the generated outputs. However, take in consideration that the removed tag information will not stored in the generated DICOM tag trees any more and will be lost in further processing steps.

Trouble Shooting

• An expected DICOM tag does not appear in Tag Dump or the tag(dump) does not match the original input data.

  The Tag Dump usually does not show the DICOM information of the originally imported and/or composed DICOM frames any more, but a composed DICOM tree built from all input frames. It is a the MeVisLab internal Structured Multi-Frame DICOM tree which represents all input frames. If expected tags do not appear any more the usually has one of the following causes:

  1. Either the Tag Dump Size field is not large enough. This is usually indicated at the end of Tag Dump with the message “tag list shortened and not shown completely” . Use a filter expression in Filter to filter explicitly for this tag or consider increasing Tag Dump Size.
  2. A tag from the input frame has been removed, overwritten or added in the import process or due to configuration settings. The need for this behaviour can easily be understood regarding the value of the tag Number Of Frames. It must be revised if many single frame files are composed to a set of multiple frames to maintain the consistency of the composed DICOM tree.
  3. Meta data information of non DICOM file(s) is displayed. Its format and content fully depends on the plugin which is used to load that data.
  4. For displaying the original and unmodified DICOM information of a specific file use the DicomTreeInfo module.

• Console message: “It was not possible to create valid image properties for this volume.”

  This message often indicates that DirectDicomImport cannot import the DICOM frame or volume, because

  • it is of a type or modality which is still not or only partially supported,
  • the file is a manipulated or non standard DICOM file without pixel, spectroscopy, or deformation field data,
  • or the DICOM file/frame is invalid (often a subsequent problem of corrupted DICOM files as described below in the next issue).

  The second case can happen if file pairs of the typical MeVisLab DCM/TIF file format are separated or incorrectly modified or renamed. The DICOM header file cannot be loaded correctly without the corresponding .tif file.

• Stream output messages in the MeVisLab console or in the console of the :module:`DirectDicomImport`.

  If you experience these messages then there is usually a problem in the imported DICOM data itself. Most of these messages comes from loader backends used to load the data, typically from the dcmtk library or even from a JPEG library used by dcmtk to decode DICOM pixel data. Often these messages indicate incorrect import processes, wrong volume compositions or even no or incompletely imported data.

  Most of these message are caused by inconsistent DICOM tags, such as

  • unexpected values,
  • corrupted DICOM files or frames,
  • DICOM standard violations,
  • too short tag data sections,
  • unexpected or non standard value representations,
  • non ascending tag order

  and so on.

  Unfortunately DirectDicomImport cannot correct or handle such errors, because in most of these cases the DICOM data itself is corrupted or not standard compliant.

  Reasons: Very typical reasons for this are

  • the transfer of DICOM files/frames via ftp in ASCII mode which replaces data bytes with new-line data bytes in binary DICOM data. Especially if only a few DICOM frames of a large set cause such errors, then this reason is very probable.
  • the transfer of DICOM files/frames via the www, via archive files or self-burned or old CDs or DVDs without check sum verification. Experiences with many DICOM file sources shows that due to the large data files these transfers tend to be unsafe.

  Indicators: Check file sizes and dates in the folder with DICOM frames. In most cases (not always!) all DICOM frames have the same or nearly the same file size and only very small changes in its creation time. Indicators for corrupted files then might be

  • too small file sizes
  • irregular file sizes
  • irregular file dates

  while the file names are in regular order.

  Solutions: If you suspect any of the upper problems then try to get a new copy of the data after checking carefully where it comes from, how it was transferred, after adding checksums and verifying/correcting the data transfer modes (especially in ftp transfers and using zip or other archives).

• Console message: “ The volume has a photometric interpretation PALETTECOLOR, PALETTE COLOR, YBR_FULL, or MONOCHROME1. The image voxels will be read as they are without translating them to grey scale or colors values. Consider using the module ApplyDicomPixelModifiers after importing the volume to transform the image data appropriately”

  This message indicates that the imported DICOM frame(s) make use of a color model or palette index colors which are not translated by DirectDicomImport or MultiFileVolumeList modules to the typical color model(s) used in MeVisLab, because this would require a modification of the DICOM (pixel) data. As mentioned, consider using the module DicomPaletteLUT and ApplyDicomPixelModifiers for solutions and further information.

• Console message: “ The volume contains DICOM tags Rescale Intercept != 0, Rescale Slope != 1 or Dose Grid Scaling != 1. The pixel data has not been transformed according to these values. Consider using the module ApplyDicomPixelModifiers after importing the volume to transform the image data appropriately.”

  DICOM frames often contain pixel data which requires rescaling to its original value range before using it. Although this would be desirable this is not done by DirectDicomImport or MultiFileVolumeList modules, because it often would also require a data type change to avoid information loss. Moreover this data type change is not desired in many contexts.

  In most use cases this rescaling is not really needed, however, some manufacturers also apply different scalings to all the frames of a series. In this case this can make the data incorrectly scaled after importing and requires additional consideration.

  See also the DicomRescale and ApplyDicomPixelModifiers for solutions and further information.

• Console message: “Could not determine min/max values from all frames. Min/Max values in image properties may be incorrect.”

  In some cases the minimum and maximum value of the output image cannot determined. This can happen either, because the DICOM frame data cannot be read or decoded (then other problems exist) or the Min/Max Calculation is set to “Only From Dicom Tags”. Try to use “Automatic” mode to solve the problem.

• Console messages: “Cerr: W: Invalid SOS parameters for sequential JPEG” and “DcmItem: Length of element XYZ is odd”

  These messages and other similar ones indicate that the data inside of DICOM tag or pixel data can either be corrupted or compressed or coded in a sloppy or unsafe way. Without a detailed analysis of the binary frame data it is not possibly to decide which one is the case and whether it results to broken data or not. It is recommended to exclude such data from critical applications. See also the section dcmtk - messages in the MeVisLab console or in the console of the :module:`DirectDicomImport`. above for details.

• Detected an uncompressed 2D DICOM frame with pixel data size matching rows*columns*sizeof(dataType)…

  This message usually is printed when DirectDicomImport recognizes incorrect DICOM tag information. Tags in the imported frames are wrongly coded and violate the DICOM standard.

  This commonly happens if original DICOM frames have been post-processed with other tools than the original creator or modality. Unfortunately these post-processing tools often tend to be buggy and create DICOM files which are not standard compliant any more. The mostly appearing scenario is, that some software does not support multi-frame or enhanced multi-frame files and therefore another tool is used to decomposed to them to single frame files. If you experience this, then request the original data before it was processed. Inform the source site about this possible misbehavior of the tool and import the data with DirectDicomImport again which usually can handle (enhanced) multi-frame files.

DICOM information appended to the output volumes and handling of SOPInstanceUID values

DirectDicomImport does not only compose files to volumes, but in case of DICOM files, it usually also creates new DICOM information as tree-like meta information appended to the volume, visible in Tag Dump.

In DICOM, the SOPInstanceUID is used to uniquely identify and/or reference a specific DICOM file. Therefore the composed DICOM information uses the following rules in composed DICOM information to replace/update/preserve SOPInstanceUID values and tags.

• Imported single DICOM (image) files which are not composed with other files or decomposed into parts or frames, get the original and unchanged DICOM information as meta data, i.e. the original SOPInstanceUID tag and value are preserved.

• If more than one DICOM frame from different sources/files are composed to a volume, a new DCMTree is created and appended as meta data.

  • On root level of the DCMTree a new and unique SOPInstanceUID is set.

  • Frames tags which are identical in all composed frames are usually stored only once. They are located on the same tree level where also a private sequence tag with entries for each frame containing the frame specific tags.

  • Frame specific information is stored in a private sequence tag under the private creator MeVis StructuredMF data with group id 0x0041 such as

    ...
    (0008,0018) UI 1 [SOPInstanceUID]:1.3.6.1.4.1.34261.18121618296094.1279.1561021778.1
    ...
    (0041,0010) LO 1 [PrivateCreator]:MeVis StructuredMF data
    (0041,1001) US 1 [Private Tag: Element offset for number of dimensions, MeVis, MeVis StructuredMF data]:25
    (0041,1002) SQ 0 [Private Tag: Element offset for dimension sequence, MeVis, MeVis StructuredMF data]:<Sequence tag. 25 sequenceItems, 0 values>
        Sequence Item 0:
          Frame specific information from first frame.
        ...
        Sequence Item N:
          Frame specific information from last frame.
    

  If a frame comes from a enhanced DICOM file/frame and was decomposed with enabled Decompose Multi Frame Files:

  • the frame itself usually does not have its own SOPInstanceUID. Nevertheless the SOPInstanceUID of its source file is stored as SourceSOPInstanceUIDOfDecomposedFrame (lower eight bits of element id is 1) and
  • the source index of the frame is stored as SourceIndexOfDecomposedFrame (counting starts at 1, not at 0) (lower eight bits of element id is 1)

  Both are preserved as private tags with the private creator Fraunhofer MEVIS and group id 0x041 in the frame specific entry such as

  ...
  Sequence Item I:
  ...
  (0041,0010) LO 1 [PrivateCreator]:Fraunhofer MEVIS
  (0041,1001) UL 1 [Private Tag: SourceIndexOfDecomposedFrame, Fraunhofer MEVIS, Fraunhofer MEVIS]:22
  (0041,1002) UI 1 [Private Tag: SourceSOPInstanceUIDOfDecomposedFrame, Fraunhofer MEVIS, Fraunhofer MEVIS]:1.3.12.2.1107.5.99.3.30000012062513241298400000000
  ...
  

  If a frame comes from a non-enhanced DICOM file/frame, then it usually has an original SOPInstanceUID which is preserved normally as part of the frame specific entry such as

  ...
  Sequence Item I:
    ...
    (0008,0018) UI 1 [SOPInstanceUID]:1.2.840.113619.2.353.6945.3202330.15732.1410848781.479
    ...
  

Tips

• Not all DICOM files (especially those ones without image data, with private tags or newer DICOM standards) can be read reliably.
• Volume compositions from slices and source files is a non trivial task and depends on import parameters, on DICOM tags, scan parameters and many other factors. DirectDicomImport uses heuristics from the Dicom Processor Library (DPL) for that, and those import tools can fail. Try other parameter combinations if volume composition is not as expected.
• Even if caching is activated the import process can take a while. This can be interrupted only at a few places during operation, because the DPL and processings do not allow interruptions at all points. So please be patient when trying to interrupt.
• When single or multiple DICOM frames are imported and composed to a volume, then currently the page extent for the result volume is set to the extent of the composed frames. This can lead to memory trouble if large frames are composed in MeVisLab when using the generated volumes. In some cases the usage of a ImagePropertyConvert module after DirectDicomImport or MultiFileVolumeList modules can help to compensate this problem.
• When activating Show Icon Column in Table this can degrade performance significantly, especially if a large number of volumes is created during the import process or if many large volumes are inside the list. Disable this flag for maximum import performance.

Windows

Default Panel

Input Fields

inputFilterPlugin

name: inputFilterPlugin, type: FileListFilterPluginBase(MLBase)

At this connector modules such as FileListFilterPlugin can be connected to filter or label the files to be imported. Also specific DPL configurations and settings can be assigned to influence the imported volumes and file sets. Note that these modules can be cascaded for multiple (pre) filter steps.

inputMessageFilterPlugin

name: inputMessageFilterPlugin, type: DicomConfigurableMessageFilter(MLBase)

In some situations is may be of interest to suppress messages (errors, or warnings) generated by the DirectDicomImport since the user is aware of their origin and meaning, and because they shadow other messages which might have a higher importance. For this purpose a plugin can be connected to this input which filters out specific messages, for example a DicomConfigurableMessageFilter. If this input is left open then the messages are generated according to Log Parting And Sorting Information and Verbose Mode.

Output Fields

The module has three outputs, one for a currently selected image, its overlay information if available, and a Base output for modules normally derived from MultiFileVolumeListBaseOutput (such as MultiFileVolumeListImageOutput or MultiFileVolumeListIteratorOutput) to provide access to the entire volume list and/or selected volumes.

output0

name: output0, type: Image

The module output makes the the currently selected image volume available as ML image if it is a valid one.

The source image data is loaded on demand from the original DICOM source files.

outputAccessConnector

name: outputAccessConnector, type: MultiFileVolumeListRefCounted(MLBase)

The Base connector can be used to connect additional MultiFileVolumeList modules derived from MultiFileVolumeListBaseOutput. Those modules can provide access to multiple volumes in the DirectDicomImport at once.

For details see the documentation of MultiFileVolumeListBaseOutput, MultiFileVolumeListImageOutput, and MultiFileVolumeListIteratorOutput as well as similar modules.

For accessing this object via scripting see the Scripting Reference: MLMultiFileVolumeListWrapper.

output1

name: output1, type: Image

If the currently selected volume is of an image type and if it contains DICOM overlay information then this possibly will be provided at this output. Typically it can be displayed with a SoView2DOverlay or similar modules on top of the viewer showing the image from output connector 0. If multiple overlays are available, then they will be composed with an OR operation, overlay pixels will have value 1, background pixels 0. This image at this connector will be invalid if no valid DICOM image volume is selected or it does not contain valid overlay information. Only overlays according to the current DICOM standard are displayed; overlays according to the retired DICOM standard are not displayed. See http://medical.nema.org/Dicom/2011/11_03pu.pdf, section C.9 for details. The overlay image data is calculated on demand from the input DICOM information.

Parameter Fields

Field Index

Absolute Distance Tolerance: Double	Full Source Dir Path: String	Series Based Preprocessing Condition: Bool
Allow Mixed Pixel Types: Bool	Full User Src Paths: String	Show icon column in table: Bool
Allow Sorting According to DimensionIndexValues Tag: Enum	fullTargetPath: String	Silent Trial File Types: String
Annotate: Bool	fullUserSrcPathsResolved: String	Sort Mode: Enum
Anonymize name and birth date: Bool	Had Errors: Bool	Sort Upwards: Bool
Automatically create cache directory: Bool	Had Warnings: Bool	Source Dir: String
C: Integer	Icon Build Mode: Enum	Special Processors: Enum
Cache File Name: String	Id (userColumnTag0): String	Split time points to 3D volumes: Bool
Cache Path: String	Id (userColumnTag1): String	Stop: Trigger
Clear After Import: Bool	Id (userColumnTag2): String	Suppressed Files and Suffixes: String
Clear Console: Trigger	Id (dplHardOverwriteTagId0): String	T: Integer
Clear Dcm Tree Cache: Trigger	Id (dplHardOverwriteTagId1): String	Tag Dump: String
Clear Result Cache: Trigger	Id (dplHardOverwriteTagId2): String	Tag Dump Size: Integer
Clear Single Frame Cache: Trigger	Id (dplHardOverwriteTagId3): String	Thumbnail Extent: Integer
Clear Single Frame Cache After Import: Bool	Idx Sort Tag Value: String	Total Slices: Integer
Clear Volume List: Trigger	Input File List: String	Total Slices Mult Time Points: Integer
Column Config: String	inputFileListResolved: String	Total Time Points: Integer
Compose Other Files Mode: Enum	Load Result Cache: Trigger	Total Voxels: Double
Console Size In Kilo Bytes: Integer	Log: String	U: Integer
Copy Full Functional Group Sequences: Bool	Log Dicom Cache Infos: Bool	updateThumbNails: Trigger
Copy Private Top Level Source Tags: Bool	Log Parting And Sorting Information: Bool	Use Numeric Tag Value Sorting: Bool
Decompose Multi Frame Files: Bool	Max Tag Cached MBs: Integer	Use relative paths in cache files: Bool
Dpl Config String0: String	Max Tree Cached MBs: Integer	Use result caching: Bool
Dpl Config String1: String	Min/Max Calculation: Enum	User Tag0: Bool
Dpl Config String2: String	Minimum Num Frames in Volume: Integer	User Tag1: Bool
Dpl Config String3: String	Num shown binary bytes: Integer	User Tag2: Bool
Dpl Hard Overwrite Tag On0: Bool	Num Vol Voxels: Double	Value (dplHardOverwriteTagStr0): String
Dpl Hard Overwrite Tag On1: Bool	Num Volumes: Integer	Value (dplHardOverwriteTagStr1): String
Dpl Hard Overwrite Tag On2: Bool	Position Tolerance MM: Double	Value (dplHardOverwriteTagStr2): String
Dpl Hard Overwrite Tag On3: Bool	Prefer cache reload before import: Bool	Value (dplHardOverwriteTagStr3): String
Dpl Import: Trigger	processing: Bool	Verbose Mode: Enum
Dump Private Tag Values: Bool	progress: Float	Volume Index: Integer
Edit DICOM cache size: Bool	Progress Info: String	Volume Info Dump: String
Explicit File Types: String	Relative Distance Tolerance: Double	Volume Infos: String
File List Info: String	Remove private MFSQ tag: Bool	Warn Dicom Cache Overflows: Bool
Filter: String	Replacement for Missing ImageOrientationPatient: String	Write cache files for each volume: Bool
Force Orthogonal World Matrix: Bool	Save Result Cache: Trigger	X: Integer
Force2DPlus TCondition: String	Scan recursively: Bool	Y: Integer
Full Cache Path: String	Selected Configuration: Enum	Z: Integer

Visible Fields

Tag Dump Size

name: tagDumpSize, type: Integer, default: 10000

This is the maximum number of characters shown in the Tag Dump field. Note that too large values can degrade performance when viewing the DICOM tag list. See Tag Dump for details.

Dump Private Tag Values

name: dumpPrivateTagValues, type: Bool, default: FALSE

If this flag is enabled, the tag dump will also list and decode private DICOM tag values as far as possible with registered tag decoders. This might be a bit less stable then disabling this flag. Enabling this tag also can lead to significantly larger tag dumps. See Tag Dump for details.

Num shown binary bytes

name: numShownBinaryEntries, type: Integer, default: 8

Number of shown entries of binary and private tags. See Tag Dump for details since larger values usually increase the size of the dump.

Annotate

name: annotate, type: Bool, default: FALSE

If enabled then tags are annotated with further descriptive information such as possible types (1=Mandatory, 1C=Conditionally Mandatory, 2=Mandatory, may have zero or one item, 2C=Conditionally Mandatory, but may be empty, 3=Optional) and possible meanings of the tag. Note that no context nor any DICOM SOP class analysis is performed for that information and therefore all possible and perhaps redundant meanings are shown. See also Tag Dump for details since larger values usually increase the size of the dump.

Filter

name: regExLineFilter, type: String

If not empty then the regular expression is used to filter all lines of Tag Dump; see that field for more details. Examples:

Expression	Description
.*	Matches all string/lines.
.*(0008,0032).*	Matches all lines containing this tag ID.
.*logo.*	Matches anything containing ‘logo’ (case sensitive)
.*[lL][oO][gG][oO].*	Matches anything containing ‘logo’ (case insensitive)
.*.[jJ][pP][gG]	Matches anything ending with .jpg where jpg is case insensitive.
.*.JPG|.*.jpg	Matches all paths ending with either ‘.jpg’ or with ‘.JPG’.
.*\d.*	Matches all paths containing at least one digit.
.*[[:digit:]].*	Same as above.
.*[[:xdigit:]].*	Matches all paths containing at least one hexadecimal digit.
.*\l.*	Matches all paths containing at least one lower case character.
.*[[:lower:]].*	Same as above.
.*\u.*	Matches all paths containing at least one upper case character.
.*[[:upper:]].*	Same as above.
.*\s.*	Matches all paths containing at least one white space character.
.*[[:space:]].*	Same as above.
.*[[:blank:]].*	Matches all paths containing at least one non-line-separating whitespace.
.*[[:word:]].*	Matches all paths containing at least one word character (alphanumeric characters plus the underscore).
.*[[:w:]].*	Same as above.
.*[[:graph:]].*	Matches all paths containing at least one graphical character.
.*[5-7].*	Matches all paths containing at least one of the digits 5, 6 or 7.

Tag Dump

name: tagDump, type: String, persistent: no

Shows the DICOM tag list or the meta data of the currently selected volume. IMPORTANT: The meta data dump will be clamped if it is larger than Tag Dump Size to avoid that creating and displaying it takes too long. Check An expected DICOM tag does not appear in Tag Dump or the tag(dump) does not match the original input data in trouble shooting section for solutions. Consider also to make use of DicomTreeInfo module to display the original and unmodified DICOM information of a specific file.

Full Source Dir Path

name: fullPath, type: String, persistent: no

This is the absolute path of Source Dir directory from where DICOM files are going to be imported. This field is often useful to connect that path to other fields for further usage or to feed in an absolute path when the GUI of DirectDicomImport is not available (for example in code generated networks).

Full User Src Paths

name: fullUserSrcPaths, type: String

Line separated additional directory paths which are also imported after parsing Full Source Dir Path. Important: Each specified directory is imported in a single import step which means that files from two directories specified in this field will never be composed to one volume. This can especially be useful to avoid that files from different directories are composed. See also Input File List.

Newer versions of DirectDicomImport resolve MeVisLab script variables such as $(TMPDIR) or $(DemoDataPath) if a script engine is available. Note that such variables will not be expanded if DirectDicomImport runs inside a script-less environment (e.g. standalone c++-tests).

Full Cache Path

name: fullCachePath, type: String, persistent: no

This read-only field (expanded from Cache Path) shows the full path name used for storing and loading MultiFileVolumeList caches.

Use relative paths in cache files

name: useRelativeCachePaths, type: Bool, default: FALSE, deprecated name: useRelativeCachePathsFld

If possible use relative paths in cache files. This, however, is only possible for files which are located next to the written cache file or in directories which are next to the cache file. All other paths will still be generated and stored as absolute paths.

Write cache files for each volume

name: writeSingleVolumeCacheFiles, type: Bool, default: FALSE

If disabled then only one large cache file for all volumes is generated. If enabled then for each volume a single cache file is written as well as a parent cache file. This allows to load single volumes from their corresponding cache files without the need to all volumes at once.

Automatically create cache directory

name: autoCreateCachePath, type: Bool, default: FALSE

Automatically create the cache directory if it does not yet exist.

Cache File Name

name: cacheFileName, type: String, default: DDICacheFile

Name of cache file in which DirectDicomImport can store cache information to speed up file reloads etc. The ending ‘.mlDDICache’ will automatically be added. Actually the cache files are stored MultiFileVolumeLists and therefore can also be managed, loaded and displayed with modules derived from MultiFileVolumeListBaseOutput.

Note that this path is insensitive if Use result caching is disabled.

Log

name: console, type: String, persistent: no

Shows logging, verbose and error information of the file parse and volume composition process.

Check this console for warnings and error after importing DICOM slices to see whether everything worked fine.

Console Size In Kilo Bytes

name: consoleSizeInKiloBytes, type: Integer, default: 64

Logging outputs larger than this value will be clamped (to avoid performance loss due to too long logging outputs).

Clear Console

name: clearConsole, type: Trigger

Clears the console output. This operation is available via the enumerator field Clear.

Volume Index

name: outVolume, type: Integer, default: 0, minimum: 0, maximum: :field:`numVolumes`

This indexes the volume currently selected in the volume list and passed to the module output.

Dpl Import

name: dplImport, type: Trigger

Calls the Dicom Processor Library (DPL) to import and compose DICOM files according to given parameters. Status and error information are listed in Log.

Clear Dcm Tree Cache

name: clearDcmTreeCache, type: Trigger

Clear cached DICOM tag trees. Usually only needed if contents of already cached files have changed. This operation is available via the enumerator field Clear.

Clear Result Cache

name: clearResultCache, type: Trigger

Clear cached result volumes. This operation is available via the enumerator field Clear.

Clear Volume List

name: clearVolumeList, type: Trigger

Makes the current volume list empty, that means imported volumes or loaded volumes from cached files are thrown away. Stored files on disk or stored cache files are not affected. This operation is available via the enumerator field Clear.

Load Result Cache

name: loadResultCache, type: Trigger

Reloads cached result volumes.

Prefer cache reload before import

name: preferCacheBeforeImport, type: Bool, default: FALSE

If enabled then before an import it is always tried to load a cache; only if that fails a normal import is performed. This flag is only used if Use result caching is enabled. Requires enabled result caching.

Save Result Cache

name: saveResultCache, type: Trigger

Stores the current volumes list in a result cache. Requires enabled result caching.

Stop

name: stopImporting, type: Trigger

If pressed the DICOM Processor Library (DPL) importing process is stopped as soon as possible (even that may take a while, please be patient!).

Clear After Import

name: clearAfterImport, type: Bool, default: FALSE

If enabled then the DICOM tree cache is cleared after importing has finished.

Clear Single Frame Cache After Import

name: clearSingleFrameCacheAfterImport, type: Bool, default: TRUE

If enabled (the recommended default) then the cache for decomposed multi frame trees is cleared automatically after importing has finished since they are normally not needed any more.

Modules such as DicomModifyMultiFileVolumeExport require the decomposed frame information if they shall be exported to files after a finished imported process. In such cases Clear Single Frame Cache After Import can be disabled to make these frame decompositions available for further processing. Then the cache must be cleared with Clear Single Frame Cache manually to avoid wasting memory.

Clear Single Frame Cache

name: clearSingleFrameCache, type: Trigger

If enabled then the cache for decomposed multi frames is cleared. Only enabled if Clear Single Frame Cache After Import is disabled. This should typically be used if the decomposed frames are not needed any more, for example after exporting them with a DicomModifyMultiFileVolumeExport.

Progress Info

name: progressInfo, type: String, persistent: no

Shows descriptive information about the state of the import progress.

Max Tree Cached MBs

name: maxTreeCachedMBs, type: Integer, default: 1000, minimum: -1, deprecated name: maxCachedMBs

Mega bytes of memory spent for caching data of loaded DICOM trees, values < 0 means unlimited. Too small values can degrade performance, and high values can improve performance. Spend as much memory without endangering the stability of the application.

Max Tag Cached MBs

name: maxTagCachedMBs, type: Integer, default: 500

Mega bytes of memory spent for caching data of loaded DICOM trees, values < 0 means unlimited. See also Max Tree Cached MBs.

Edit DICOM cache size

name: editDicomCacheSize, type: Bool, default: FALSE

Normally the internal data cache for loaded DICOM frames and tags should not be controlled by a specific DirectDicomImport module, because it is a shared over the entire MeVisLab application. However, if an application needs control over the cache size used by DirectDicomImport modules and therefore wants to modify the cache sizes then this flag can be enabled. Note that it is strongly recommended that only on DirectDicomImport instance in an application or network should control the cache size to avoid side effects. See Max Tag Cached MBs and Max Tree Cached MBs for further information.

Use result caching

name: useResultCaching, type: Bool, default: FALSE

Traversed files and directories are cached for fast reload with Load Result Cache if this check box is enabled.

Num Volumes

name: numVolumes, type: Integer, persistent: no

This read-only field shows how many volumes were composed and are shown in the volume table.

Total Slices

name: totalSlices, type: Integer, persistent: no

This read-only field shows the sum of slices of all volumes shown in the volume table.

Total Time Points

name: totalTimePoints, type: Integer, persistent: no

This read-only field shows the sum of time points of all volumes shown in the volume table.

Total Slices Mult Time Points

name: totalSlicesMultTimePoints, type: Integer, persistent: no

This read-only field shows the sum of slices multiplied with the number of time points of all volumes shown in the volume table.

Total Voxels

name: totalVoxels, type: Double, persistent: no

This read-only field shows the sum of number of voxels of all volumes shown in the volume table.

X

name: extX, type: Integer, persistent: no

This read-only field shows the x-extent of the currently selected volume.

Y

name: extY, type: Integer, persistent: no

This read-only field shows the y-extent of the currently selected volume.

Z

name: extZ, type: Integer, persistent: no

This read-only field shows the z-extent of the currently selected volume.

C

name: extC, type: Integer, persistent: no

This read-only field shows the color dimension extent of the currently selected volume.

T

name: extT, type: Integer, persistent: no

This read-only field shows the time dimension extent of the currently selected volume.

U

name: extU, type: Integer, persistent: no

This read-only field shows the u-dimension extent of the currently selected volume.

Num Vol Voxels

name: numVolVoxels, type: Double, persistent: no

This read-only field shows number of voxels of the currently selected volume.

Volume Info Dump

name: volumeInfoDump, type: String, persistent: no

Shows a collection of available information about the currently selected volume.

File List Info

name: fileListInfo, type: String, persistent: no

Shows the list of files corresponding to the currently selected volume.

Suppressed Files and Suffixes

name: suppressedFilesAndSuffixes, type: String, default: .mlab .db .log .lst .xml .rar .zip .img .exe .ini .inf .jxr .ndpi .svn-base .vmu entries all-wcprops .DDI-SMF-TreeCacheFile.dcm, deprecated name: suppressedSuffixes

This is a space separated list of suffixes or file names which are not taken into account while importing and composing files. All strings in this list not starting with “.” are taken as file name and must match exactly to suppress a file found in the import process. All strings starting with a “.” are considered as suffixes. The matching process is case insensitive, i.e. file.test will suppress file.test as well as FILE.TEST.

Explicit File Types

name: explicitFileTypes, type: String, default: .bmp .btf .dm3 .dm4 .cnf .cpi .czi .dat .dzi .gipl .gsa .hdr .jp2 .jpg .jpeg .lsm .mhd .mi .mlimage .nhdr .nii .mca .mrxs .nrrd .pgm .pic .png .pnm .ppm .raw .rd .rek .spe .spr .svs .tif .tiff .txt .uxd .vms .vtk .wsv .xy

Files types imported as normal files without DICOM analysis.

Input File List

name: inputFileList, type: String, deprecated name: i

A line separated list of absolute paths to files to be imported; see also Full User Src Paths. Newer versions of DirectDicomImport resolve MeVisLab script variables such as $(TMPDIR) or $(DemoDataPath) if a script engine is available. Note that such variables will not be expanded if DirectDicomImport runs inside a script-less environment (e.g. standalone c++-tests).

Had Warnings

name: hadWarnings, type: Bool, persistent: no

This flag will be checked if any warnings occurred, otherwise it will be cleared.

Had Errors

name: hadErrors, type: Bool, persistent: no

This flag will be checked if any errors occurred, otherwise it will be cleared.

Log Dicom Cache Infos

name: logDicomCacheInfos, type: Bool, default: FALSE

If enabled then DICOM cache usage is logged into the DDI console during import operations.

Warn Dicom Cache Overflows

name: warnDicomCacheOverflows, type: Bool, default: FALSE

If enabled then overflows of the DICOM cache are logged into the MeVisLab console as warnings.

Volume Infos

name: volumeInfos, type: String, persistent: no

This read-only field shows a table with much information about generated image volumes and allows their selection with mouse clicks or by using the Up or Down keys to change the current selection. The volume at the selected index (shown in the ‘Idx’ column’ of the Volumes list) is passed to the image output of DirectDicomImport.

Its columns are configured in Column Config in the tab Configuration -> Volume List Options -> Columns.

Sort Mode

name: sortMode, type: Enum, default: NumVoxels

This field selects the mode how the volume list is sorted in the Idx column. To see the right order in the volume table make the Idx column sorted in the table.

Values:

Title	Name	Description
No Sort	NoSort	The volume list is displayed as it was generated during import.
Valid Volumes	ValidVolumes	Sorting criteria is whether the volumes have valid image data.
Num Bytes	NumBytes	The volume are sorted according to their number of bytes in image data.
Num Voxels	NumVoxels	The volume are sorted according to their number of voxels in image data.
XExtent	XExtent	The volume are sorted according to the spatial x-extent of their image data.
YExtent	YExtent	The volume are sorted according to the spatial y-extent of their image data.
ZExtent	ZExtent	The volume are sorted according to the spatial z-extent of their image data.
CXExtent	CXExtent	The volume are sorted according to the color dimension extent of their image data.
TExtent	TExtent	The volume are sorted according to the time extent of their image data.
UExtent	UExtent	The volume are sorted according to the extent of user dimension of their image data.
Voxel Volume	VoxelVolume	The volume are sorted according to the geometrical volume of the entire image data.
Voxel Type Size	VoxelTypeSize	The volume are sorted according to the byte-size of the data type of their image data.
Voxel Voxel Components	VoxelVoxelComponents	The volume are sorted according to the number of components of the data type of their image data.
Num Slice Bytes	NumSliceBytes	The volume are sorted according to the number of bytes of a 2D x/y dimensional slice/frame in their image data.
Num Slice Voxels	NumSliceVoxels	The volume are sorted according to the number of voxels of a 2D x/y dimensional slice/frame in their image data.
Sort According Dcm Tag	SortAccordingDcmTag	Sorts according to the string value retrieved from a given DICOM tag. See Idx Sort Tag Value for details.
Filter Label	FilterLabel	The volumes are sorted according to their volume label provided via a FileListFilterPlugin.

Sort Upwards

name: sortUpwards, type: Bool, default: TRUE

Large values of the value specified in ‘Sort Mode’ are sorted to the start of the volume list if this flag is true, otherwise they are sorted to the end. Note that for correct sort order the Idx column in the table must be selected for sorting.

Idx Sort Tag Value

name: idxSortTagValue, type: String, default: Modality

The string value of the DICOM tags with this tag id are used for sorting the volume list if Sort Mode is Sort According Dcm Tag, otherwise this value is ignored and the field is insensitive or invisible. If tag value cannot be retrieved from the volume for any reason then an empty string is used for sorting. The tag id string must have a format like (ABCD, EFGH) where ABCD and EFGH are hexadecimal numbers describing 16 bit unsigned integers where ABCD are the high and EFGH are the low bits of the word. Sorting according tags whose values are numerical but represented as string is influenced by the Use Numeric Tag Value Sorting.

Use Numeric Tag Value Sorting

name: useNumericTagValueSorting, type: Bool, default: FALSE

If enabled then tags with numeric string values are interpreted as sign 32 bit integers (and printed with “-” for negative values if necessary) and leading spaces to fill 8 characters to make all tag values sortable uniquely. If disabled then from the numeric string value tags the normal string values are read as they are stored in the tag. This flag is also used by sorting, see Sort Mode if the mode Sort According Dcm Tag is used.

Thumbnail Extent

name: thumbNailsExt, type: Integer, default: 40

Defines the extent (in pixels) of thumb nails shown in the volume list. Note that this field is insensitive if Show icon column in table is disabled.

Id (userColumnTag0)

name: userColumnTag0, type: String

First tag Id of the tag whose value can be shown in a column in the volume list. The tag id string must have a format like (ABCD, EFGH) where ABCD and EFGH are hexadecimal numbers describing 16 bit unsigned integers where ABCD are the high and EFGH are the low bits of the word. See also User Tag0 where this column can be enabled.

Id (userColumnTag1)

name: userColumnTag1, type: String

Second tag Id of the tag whose value can be shown in a column in the volume list. The tag id string must have a format like (ABCD, EFGH) where ABCD and EFGH are hexadecimal numbers describing 16 bit unsigned integers where ABCD are the high and EFGH are the low bits of the word. See also User Tag1 where this column can be enabled.

Id (userColumnTag2)

name: userColumnTag2, type: String

Third tag Id of the tag whose value can be shown in a column in the volume list. The tag id string must have a format like (ABCD, EFGH) where ABCD and EFGH are hexadecimal numbers describing 16 bit unsigned integers where ABCD are the high and EFGH are the low bits of the word. See also User Tag2 where this column can be enabled.

Icon Build Mode

name: iconBuildMode, type: Enum, default: UseMiddleSlice

Selects how/from which input slices the thumbnail icon in the volume table is generated from input image. Note that this field is insensitive if the checkbox Show Icon Column in Table is disabled.

• Use First Slice Takes the first slice from the image to build the thumbnail.
• Use Middle Slice Takes the middle slice from the image to build the thumbnail.

Important:

When activating Show Icon Column in Table this can degrate performance significantly, especially if a large number of volumes is created during the import process or if many large volumes are inside the list. Disable this flag for maximum import performance.

Show icon column in table

name: icon, type: Bool, default: FALSE

If enabled then an overview icon of the volume is shown in a column in the volume list. The extent and the way how the icon is generated is defined in the fields Thumbnail Extent and Icon Build Mode. Note that this field is insensitive if the checkbox Show Icon Column in Table is disabled.

User Tag0

name: userTag0, type: Bool, default: FALSE

If enabled the value of user tag 0 is shown as a a column in the volume list. See also Id where the Id of the user tag can be set.

User Tag1

name: userTag1, type: Bool, default: FALSE

If enabled the value of user tag 1 is shown as a a column in the volume list. See also Id where the Id of the user tag can be set.

User Tag2

name: userTag2, type: Bool, default: FALSE

If enabled the value of user tag 2 is shown as a a column in the volume list. See also Id where the Id of the user tag can be set.

Column Config

name: columnConfig, type: String, default: # Note: Comments must always be prefixed at line start with a '#'., , # Default setting:, validImage hasIssues fileType voxelType imgExt numVoxels numSlices numTimePoints numSrcFiles modality patientID patientSex patientsName studyID, , #modality studyDate acquisitionTime numSlices spacingBetweenSlices studyDescription seriesDescription acquisitionDate imageComments patientsName patientSex patientsBirthDate patientID referringPhysiciansName admittingDiagnosesDescription, , # Available values are:, #userTag0 userTag1 userTag2 validImage hasIssues importTime fileType voxelType imgExt voxelExtent numVoxels numSlices colorImage numTimePoints numSrcFiles firstOrigFile firstOrigFileWOPath firstOrigDir outFileName inputFilterLabel lossy compressionType humanReadableOrientation accessionNumber acquisitionDate acquisitionMatrix acquisitionNumber acquisitionTime aCR_NEMA_AcquisitionsInSeries aCR_NEMA_ImageOrientation aCR_NEMA_ImagePosition admittingDiagnosesDescription angioFlag bitsAllocated bitsStored bodyPartExamined codeMeaning codeValue columns contentDate contentTime contrastBolusAgent contrastBolusStartTime convolutionKernel currentPatientLocation derivationDescription echoTime echoTrainLength exposure exposureTime flipAngle frameOfReferenceUID gantryAngle gantryAngleTolerance gantryDetectorSlew gantryDetectorTilt gantryRotationDirection highBit imageComments imagedNucleus imageOrientationPatient imagePositionPatient imageType imagingFrequency instanceCreationDate instanceCreationTime instanceNumber institutionAddress institutionName inversionTime kVP largestImagePixelValue magneticFieldStrength manufacturer manufacturersModelName mediaStorageSOPInstanceUID modality mRAcquisitionType nameOfPhysiciansReadingStudy numberOfAverages numberOfFrames numberOfPhaseEncodingSteps numberOfTemporalPositions otherPatientNames patientComments patientID patientOrientation patientsAge percentSampling patientSex patientPosition patientsAddress patientsMothersBirthName patientsName patientsTelephoneNumbers patientsWeight patientsBirthDate performedProcedureStepDescription performedProcedureStepStartDate performedProcedureStepStartTime photometricInterpretation physiciansOfRecord pixelRepresentation pixelSpacing protocolName receiveCoilName reconstructionDiameter referringPhysiciansName repetitionTime requestedProcedureDescription requestingPhysician requestingService rescaleIntercept rescaleSlope rescaleType rows samplesPerPixel sAR scanningSequence scanOptions scheduledProcedureStepDescription sequenceName sequenceVariant seriesDate seriesDescription seriesInstanceUID seriesNumber seriesTime sliceLocation sliceThickness smallestImagePixelValue softwareVersions sOPClassUID sOPInstanceUID spacingBetweenSlices stationName studyDate studyDescription studyID studyInstanceUID studyTime windowCenter windowWidth xRayTubeCurrent

Defines the order and visibility of columns. All space separated entries in lines which do not start with ‘#’ will be interpreted as column codes. The first column in the Volume list will always be the volume index which shows the volume index according to Sort Mode as a column in the volume list. The second column will be - if enabled - the volume thumbnail. All other columns can be configured in lines which do not start with a ‘#’.

The following values are calculated:

• validImage: Shows whether the volume is a valid image or not as a column in the volume list.
• hasIssues: Shows whether the volume had warnings or errors while it was imported.
• importTime: Time needed to compose this volume from already loaded DICOM files.
• fileType: Shows the file format of the imported file as a column in the volume list, original:** if it is composed of multiple files:** the file format of the first file.
• voxelType: Shows the voxel data type of the volume as a column in the volume list.
• imgExt: Shows the extent of the volume as a column in the volume list.
• voxelExtent: Shows the extent of voxels of the volume in millimeters as a column in the volume list.
• numVoxels: Shows the number of voxels of the volume as a column in the volume list.
• numSlices: Shows the number of slices of the volume as a column in the volume list.
• colorImage: Shows whether the volume is a color image or not as a column in the volume list.
• numTimePoints: Shows the number of time points of the volume as a column in the volume list.
• numSrcFiles: Shows the number of files used to compose the volume as a column in the volume list.
• firstOrigFile: Shows the path of the first file used to compose the volume as a column in the volume list.
• outFileName: Shows the path to the created output file(s) without suffix (if created) as a column in the volume list.
• inputFilterLabel: If enabled then a label assigned to any volume by an input filter will be shown as a column in the volume list view.
• lossy: Shows the column in the volume list which indicates whether a volume is lossy compressed.
• compressionType: Shows the column in the volume list which shows the compression type used to for this volume.

All other values represent the values of DICOM tags with corresponding names.

Min/Max Calculation

name: dplCalcMinMax, type: Enum, default: Automatic, deprecated name: calcMinMax

Determines in which way the minimum and maximum voxel values are determined for imported volumes.

Values:

Title	Name	Description
Automatic	Automatic	Used DICOM tags if available and scans image data for exact values if DICOM tags are not found.
Only From Dicom Tags	OnlyFromDicomTags	Uses only DICOM tag values and sets min/max to data type range if tags are not found.
Scan Image Data	ScanImageData	Always scans image data for exact values. This is the most reliable but also the most expensive mode.

Anonymize name and birth date

name: dplAnon, type: Bool, default: FALSE

This flag is provided only for backward compatibility, do not use! Its activation anonymizes patient id name and birth date on top level tags in composed structured multi-frame DICOM headers, but it affects no tags in multi-frame (sub)trees, nor in private tags nor in non-composed DICOM trees which are directly imported form single files. Therefore it is not sufficient to fulfill any typical anonymization requirements.

Verbose Mode

name: dplVerbose, type: Enum, default: 0

Controls how much information is logged about volume sorting and splitting during import operations.

Values:

Title	Name	Description
0	0	Only warnings and errors are shown.
1	1	Warnings, errors, and further runtime information is shown.

Special Processors

name: specialProcessors, type: Enum, default: Off

Provides dedicated modes to (post)process imported volumes. Note that volume postprocessing can degrade performance.

Values:

Title	Name	Description
Off	Off	No postprocessing is performed.
Process Set NGo Series	ProcessSetNGoSeries	This experimental post-processor tries to compose Siemens Set’n’Go-Series to a valid volume by detecting best stitching positions and by removing overlapping frames if there are any. Note that this mode may lead to inhomogeneous grid spacings and measuring on composed output volumes may be imprecise. Also note that the used algorithm is independent of the implementations of Siemens workstations, thus results may differ.
Process Set NGo Series Only	ProcessSetNGoSeriesOnly	Only valid overlapping Siemens Set’n’Go-Series are processed, all others are discarded. For details see mode ProcessSetNGoSeries.

Minimum Num Frames in Volume

name: minimumNumFramesInVolume, type: Integer, default: 1

Sets the minimum number of frames required in a sub-partition to break up an inhomogeneous partition into smaller potentially homogeneous partitions. If an inhomogeneous partition is broken up into smaller partitions, at least one of those partitions must have a size greater-than-or-equal-to this value.

In other words this parameter controls the activation of the irregular volume composition. Normally series with irregular slice distances are not composed but decomposed to a set of volumes where each volume obeys the given relative and absolute position and distance tolerances. If, however, the number of frames in each created volume is smaller than Minimum Num Frames in Volume then the irregular volume composition becomes active and builds a volume with irregular frames distances anyhow.

Dpl Config String0

name: dplConfigString0, type: String, default: (,   {Element = (0008,0060); Name = Modality;  Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0008,0020); Name = StudyDate; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0008,0008); Name = ImageType; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,1030); Name = ProtocolName; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,0050); Name = SliceThickness; Sort = 1; Part = 1; Tolerance = 0.000005; },,   {Element = (0018,0080); Name = RepetitionTime; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,0082); Name = InversionTime; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,0091); Name = EchoTrainLength; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,1210); Name = ConvolutionKernel; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,1314); Name = FlipAngle; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,0015); Name = BodyPartExamined; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,0008); Name = NumberOfFrames; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,0010); Name = Rows; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,0011); Name = Columns; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0020,0037); Name = ImageOrientationPatient; Sort = 1; Part = 1; Tolerance = 0.000005; },,   {Element = (0018,1004); Name = PlateID; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,1000); Name = DeviceSerialNumber; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,0004); Name = PhotometricInterpretation; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,0100); Name = BitsAllocated; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,0102); Name = HighBit; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,0103); Name = PixelRepresentation; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,0020); Name = ScanningSequence; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,0023); Name = MRAcquisitionType; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,0030); Name = PixelSpacing; Sort = 1; Part = 1; Tolerance = 0.00001; },,   {Element = (0054,0010); Name = EnergyWindowVector; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0054,0030); Name = PhaseVector; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0054,0060); Name = RRIntervalVector; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0054,0050); Name = RotationVector; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,1101); Name = RedPaletteColorLookupTableDescriptor; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,1102); Name = GreenPaletteColorLookupTableDescriptor; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,1103); Name = BluePaletteColorLookupTableDescriptor; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,1201); Name = RedPaletteColorLookupTableData; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,1202); Name = GreenPaletteColorLookupTableData; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,1203); Name = BluePaletteColorLookupTableData; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0020,000e); Name = SeriesInstanceUID; Sort = 1; SortCondition = "Modality = NM & !(FrameIncrementPointer = '(0054,0010)')" Part = 1; PartCondition = "Modality = NM & !(FrameIncrementPointer = '(0054,0010)')";       },,   {Element = (0008,0018); Name = SOPInstanceUID; Sort = 1; SortCondition = "Modality = NM & NumberOfFrames > 1";  Part = 1; PartCondition = "Modality = NM & NumberOfFrames > 1";  },,   {Element = (0008,0018); Name = SOPInstanceUID; Sort = 1; SortCondition = "Modality = CR | Modality = DR | Modality = MG | Modality = MX | Modality = PR | Modality = RG"; Part = 1; PartCondition = "Modality = CR | Modality = DR | Modality = MG | Modality = MX | Modality = PR | Modality = RG";  },,   {Element = (0008,1090); Name = ManufacturerModelName; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0008,1010); Name = StationName; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0008,0070); Name = Manufacturer; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,0020); Name = ScanningSequence; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,0085); Name = ImagedNucleus; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,0087); Name = MagneticFieldStrength; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,1020); Name = SoftwareVersion; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,5100); Name = PatientPosition; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0062,000b); Name = ReferencedSegmentNumber; Sort = 1; SortCondition = "SOPClassUID = 1.2.840.10008.5.1.4.1.1.66.4"; Part = 1;  PartCondition = "SOPClassUID = 1.2.840.10008.5.1.4.1.1.66.4"; },,   {Element = (0020,000e); Name = SeriesInstanceUID; Sort = 1; SortCondition = "SOPClassUID = 1.2.840.10008.5.1.4.1.1.66.4"; Part = 1; PartCondition = "SOPClassUID = 1.2.840.10008.5.1.4.1.1.66.4"; },,   {Element = (0020,0013); Name = InstanceNumber; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0008,0030); Name = StudyTime; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0020,0011); Name = SeriesNumber; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0008,0021); Name = SeriesDate; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0008,0031); Name = SeriesTime; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0018,0081); Name = EchoTime; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0018,0024); Name = SequenceName; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0020,0012); Name = AcquisitionNumber; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0018,0022); Name = ScanOptions; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0008,0022); Name = AcquisitionDate; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0008,0032); Name = AcquisitionTime; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0008,0023); Name = ContentDate; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0008,0033); Name = ContentTime; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0020,0032); Name = ImagePositionPatient; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0054,0020); Name = DetectorVector; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0054,0100); Name = TimeSliceVector; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0054,0070); Name = TimeSlotVector; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0054,0080); Name = SliceVector; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0054,0090); Name = AngularViewVector; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0020,9157); Name = DimensionIndexValues; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },, ),

The default configuration used by the DPL for composing/sorting DICOM frames to volumes; see Selected Configuration for details.

It cannot be modified by the user to always have the standard configuration available.

Dpl Config String1

name: dplConfigString1, type: String, default: (,   {Element = (0008,0060); Name = Modality;  Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0008,0020); Name = StudyDate; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0008,0008); Name = ImageType; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,1030); Name = ProtocolName; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,0050); Name = SliceThickness; Sort = 1; Part = 1; Tolerance = 0.000005; },,   {Element = (0018,0080); Name = RepetitionTime; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,0082); Name = InversionTime; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,0091); Name = EchoTrainLength; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,1210); Name = ConvolutionKernel; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,1314); Name = FlipAngle; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,0015); Name = BodyPartExamined; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,0008); Name = NumberOfFrames; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,0010); Name = Rows; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,0011); Name = Columns; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0020,0037); Name = ImageOrientationPatient; Sort = 1; Part = 1; Tolerance = 0.000005; },,   {Element = (0018,1004); Name = PlateID; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,1000); Name = DeviceSerialNumber; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,0004); Name = PhotometricInterpretation; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,0100); Name = BitsAllocated; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,0102); Name = HighBit; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,0103); Name = PixelRepresentation; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,0020); Name = ScanningSequence; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,0023); Name = MRAcquisitionType; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,0030); Name = PixelSpacing; Sort = 1; Part = 1; Tolerance = 0.00001; },,   {Element = (0054,0010); Name = EnergyWindowVector; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0054,0030); Name = PhaseVector; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0054,0060); Name = RRIntervalVector; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0054,0050); Name = RotationVector; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,1101); Name = RedPaletteColorLookupTableDescriptor; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,1102); Name = GreenPaletteColorLookupTableDescriptor; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,1103); Name = BluePaletteColorLookupTableDescriptor; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,1201); Name = RedPaletteColorLookupTableData; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,1202); Name = GreenPaletteColorLookupTableData; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,1203); Name = BluePaletteColorLookupTableData; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0020,000e); Name = SeriesInstanceUID; Sort = 1; SortCondition = "Modality = NM & !(FrameIncrementPointer = '(0054,0010)')" Part = 1; PartCondition = "Modality = NM & !(FrameIncrementPointer = '(0054,0010)')";       },,   {Element = (0008,0018); Name = SOPInstanceUID; Sort = 1; SortCondition = "Modality = NM & NumberOfFrames > 1";  Part = 1; PartCondition = "Modality = NM & NumberOfFrames > 1";  },,   {Element = (0008,0018); Name = SOPInstanceUID; Sort = 1; SortCondition = "Modality = CR | Modality = DR | Modality = MG | Modality = MX | Modality = PR | Modality = RG"; Part = 1; PartCondition = "Modality = CR | Modality = DR | Modality = MG | Modality = MX | Modality = PR | Modality = RG";  },,   {Element = (0008,1090); Name = ManufacturerModelName; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0008,1010); Name = StationName; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0008,0070); Name = Manufacturer; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,0020); Name = ScanningSequence; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,0085); Name = ImagedNucleus; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,0087); Name = MagneticFieldStrength; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,1020); Name = SoftwareVersion; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,5100); Name = PatientPosition; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0062,000b); Name = ReferencedSegmentNumber; Sort = 1; SortCondition = "SOPClassUID = 1.2.840.10008.5.1.4.1.1.66.4"; Part = 1;  PartCondition = "SOPClassUID = 1.2.840.10008.5.1.4.1.1.66.4"; },,   {Element = (0020,000e); Name = SeriesInstanceUID; Sort = 1; SortCondition = "SOPClassUID = 1.2.840.10008.5.1.4.1.1.66.4"; Part = 1; PartCondition = "SOPClassUID = 1.2.840.10008.5.1.4.1.1.66.4"; },,   {Element = (0020,0013); Name = InstanceNumber; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0008,0030); Name = StudyTime; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0020,0011); Name = SeriesNumber; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0008,0021); Name = SeriesDate; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0008,0031); Name = SeriesTime; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0018,0081); Name = EchoTime; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0018,0024); Name = SequenceName; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0020,0012); Name = AcquisitionNumber; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0018,0022); Name = ScanOptions; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0008,0022); Name = AcquisitionDate; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0008,0032); Name = AcquisitionTime; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0008,0023); Name = ContentDate; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0008,0033); Name = ContentTime; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0020,0032); Name = ImagePositionPatient; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0054,0020); Name = DetectorVector; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0054,0100); Name = TimeSliceVector; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0054,0070); Name = TimeSlotVector; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0054,0080); Name = SliceVector; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0054,0090); Name = AngularViewVector; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0020,9157); Name = DimensionIndexValues; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },, ),

The first user configuration used by the DPL for composing/sorting DICOM frames to volumes; see Selected Configuration for examples and limitations.

Dpl Config String2

name: dplConfigString2, type: String, default: (,   {Element = (0008,0060); Name = Modality;  Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0008,0020); Name = StudyDate; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0008,0008); Name = ImageType; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,1030); Name = ProtocolName; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,0050); Name = SliceThickness; Sort = 1; Part = 1; Tolerance = 0.000005; },,   {Element = (0018,0080); Name = RepetitionTime; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,0082); Name = InversionTime; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,0091); Name = EchoTrainLength; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,1210); Name = ConvolutionKernel; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,1314); Name = FlipAngle; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,0015); Name = BodyPartExamined; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,0008); Name = NumberOfFrames; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,0010); Name = Rows; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,0011); Name = Columns; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0020,0037); Name = ImageOrientationPatient; Sort = 1; Part = 1; Tolerance = 0.000005; },,   {Element = (0018,1004); Name = PlateID; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,1000); Name = DeviceSerialNumber; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,0004); Name = PhotometricInterpretation; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,0100); Name = BitsAllocated; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,0102); Name = HighBit; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,0103); Name = PixelRepresentation; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,0020); Name = ScanningSequence; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,0023); Name = MRAcquisitionType; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,0030); Name = PixelSpacing; Sort = 1; Part = 1; Tolerance = 0.00001; },,   {Element = (0054,0010); Name = EnergyWindowVector; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0054,0030); Name = PhaseVector; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0054,0060); Name = RRIntervalVector; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0054,0050); Name = RotationVector; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,1101); Name = RedPaletteColorLookupTableDescriptor; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,1102); Name = GreenPaletteColorLookupTableDescriptor; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,1103); Name = BluePaletteColorLookupTableDescriptor; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,1201); Name = RedPaletteColorLookupTableData; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,1202); Name = GreenPaletteColorLookupTableData; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,1203); Name = BluePaletteColorLookupTableData; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0020,000e); Name = SeriesInstanceUID; Sort = 1; SortCondition = "Modality = NM & !(FrameIncrementPointer = '(0054,0010)')" Part = 1; PartCondition = "Modality = NM & !(FrameIncrementPointer = '(0054,0010)')";       },,   {Element = (0008,0018); Name = SOPInstanceUID; Sort = 1; SortCondition = "Modality = NM & NumberOfFrames > 1";  Part = 1; PartCondition = "Modality = NM & NumberOfFrames > 1";  },,   {Element = (0008,0018); Name = SOPInstanceUID; Sort = 1; SortCondition = "Modality = CR | Modality = DR | Modality = MG | Modality = MX | Modality = PR | Modality = RG"; Part = 1; PartCondition = "Modality = CR | Modality = DR | Modality = MG | Modality = MX | Modality = PR | Modality = RG";  },,   {Element = (0008,1090); Name = ManufacturerModelName; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0008,1010); Name = StationName; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0008,0070); Name = Manufacturer; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,0020); Name = ScanningSequence; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,0085); Name = ImagedNucleus; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,0087); Name = MagneticFieldStrength; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,1020); Name = SoftwareVersion; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,5100); Name = PatientPosition; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0062,000b); Name = ReferencedSegmentNumber; Sort = 1; SortCondition = "SOPClassUID = 1.2.840.10008.5.1.4.1.1.66.4"; Part = 1;  PartCondition = "SOPClassUID = 1.2.840.10008.5.1.4.1.1.66.4"; },,   {Element = (0020,000e); Name = SeriesInstanceUID; Sort = 1; SortCondition = "SOPClassUID = 1.2.840.10008.5.1.4.1.1.66.4"; Part = 1; PartCondition = "SOPClassUID = 1.2.840.10008.5.1.4.1.1.66.4"; },,   {Element = (0020,0013); Name = InstanceNumber; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0008,0030); Name = StudyTime; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0020,0011); Name = SeriesNumber; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0008,0021); Name = SeriesDate; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0008,0031); Name = SeriesTime; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0018,0081); Name = EchoTime; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0018,0024); Name = SequenceName; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0020,0012); Name = AcquisitionNumber; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0018,0022); Name = ScanOptions; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0008,0022); Name = AcquisitionDate; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0008,0032); Name = AcquisitionTime; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0008,0023); Name = ContentDate; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0008,0033); Name = ContentTime; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0020,0032); Name = ImagePositionPatient; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0054,0020); Name = DetectorVector; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0054,0100); Name = TimeSliceVector; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0054,0070); Name = TimeSlotVector; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0054,0080); Name = SliceVector; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0054,0090); Name = AngularViewVector; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0020,9157); Name = DimensionIndexValues; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },, ),

The second user configuration used by the DPL for composing/sorting DICOM frames to volumes; see Selected Configuration for examples and limitations.

Dpl Config String3

name: dplConfigString3, type: String, default: (,   {Element = (0008,0060); Name = Modality;  Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0008,0020); Name = StudyDate; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0008,0008); Name = ImageType; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,1030); Name = ProtocolName; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,0050); Name = SliceThickness; Sort = 1; Part = 1; Tolerance = 0.000005; },,   {Element = (0018,0080); Name = RepetitionTime; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,0082); Name = InversionTime; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,0091); Name = EchoTrainLength; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,1210); Name = ConvolutionKernel; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,1314); Name = FlipAngle; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,0015); Name = BodyPartExamined; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,0008); Name = NumberOfFrames; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,0010); Name = Rows; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,0011); Name = Columns; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0020,0037); Name = ImageOrientationPatient; Sort = 1; Part = 1; Tolerance = 0.000005; },,   {Element = (0018,1004); Name = PlateID; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,1000); Name = DeviceSerialNumber; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,0004); Name = PhotometricInterpretation; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,0100); Name = BitsAllocated; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,0102); Name = HighBit; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,0103); Name = PixelRepresentation; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,0020); Name = ScanningSequence; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,0023); Name = MRAcquisitionType; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,0030); Name = PixelSpacing; Sort = 1; Part = 1; Tolerance = 0.00001; },,   {Element = (0054,0010); Name = EnergyWindowVector; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0054,0030); Name = PhaseVector; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0054,0060); Name = RRIntervalVector; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0054,0050); Name = RotationVector; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,1101); Name = RedPaletteColorLookupTableDescriptor; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,1102); Name = GreenPaletteColorLookupTableDescriptor; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,1103); Name = BluePaletteColorLookupTableDescriptor; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,1201); Name = RedPaletteColorLookupTableData; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,1202); Name = GreenPaletteColorLookupTableData; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0028,1203); Name = BluePaletteColorLookupTableData; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0020,000e); Name = SeriesInstanceUID; Sort = 1; SortCondition = "Modality = NM & !(FrameIncrementPointer = '(0054,0010)')" Part = 1; PartCondition = "Modality = NM & !(FrameIncrementPointer = '(0054,0010)')";       },,   {Element = (0008,0018); Name = SOPInstanceUID; Sort = 1; SortCondition = "Modality = NM & NumberOfFrames > 1";  Part = 1; PartCondition = "Modality = NM & NumberOfFrames > 1";  },,   {Element = (0008,0018); Name = SOPInstanceUID; Sort = 1; SortCondition = "Modality = CR | Modality = DR | Modality = MG | Modality = MX | Modality = PR | Modality = RG"; Part = 1; PartCondition = "Modality = CR | Modality = DR | Modality = MG | Modality = MX | Modality = PR | Modality = RG";  },,   {Element = (0008,1090); Name = ManufacturerModelName; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0008,1010); Name = StationName; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0008,0070); Name = Manufacturer; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,0020); Name = ScanningSequence; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,0085); Name = ImagedNucleus; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,0087); Name = MagneticFieldStrength; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,1020); Name = SoftwareVersion; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0018,5100); Name = PatientPosition; Sort = 1; Part = 1; },,   {Element = (0062,000b); Name = ReferencedSegmentNumber; Sort = 1; SortCondition = "SOPClassUID = 1.2.840.10008.5.1.4.1.1.66.4"; Part = 1;  PartCondition = "SOPClassUID = 1.2.840.10008.5.1.4.1.1.66.4"; },,   {Element = (0020,000e); Name = SeriesInstanceUID; Sort = 1; SortCondition = "SOPClassUID = 1.2.840.10008.5.1.4.1.1.66.4"; Part = 1; PartCondition = "SOPClassUID = 1.2.840.10008.5.1.4.1.1.66.4"; },,   {Element = (0020,0013); Name = InstanceNumber; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0008,0030); Name = StudyTime; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0020,0011); Name = SeriesNumber; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0008,0021); Name = SeriesDate; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0008,0031); Name = SeriesTime; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0018,0081); Name = EchoTime; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0018,0024); Name = SequenceName; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0020,0012); Name = AcquisitionNumber; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0018,0022); Name = ScanOptions; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0008,0022); Name = AcquisitionDate; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0008,0032); Name = AcquisitionTime; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0008,0023); Name = ContentDate; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0008,0033); Name = ContentTime; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0020,0032); Name = ImagePositionPatient; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0054,0020); Name = DetectorVector; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0054,0100); Name = TimeSliceVector; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0054,0070); Name = TimeSlotVector; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0054,0080); Name = SliceVector; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0054,0090); Name = AngularViewVector; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },,   {Element = (0020,9157); Name = DimensionIndexValues; Sort = 1; Part = 0; },, ),

The third user configuration used by the DPL for composing/sorting DICOM frames to volumes; see Selected Configuration for examples and limitations.

Selected Configuration

name: dplUsedConfig, type: Enum, default: DefaultConfig

Selects which DPL configuration shall be used for importing.

Notes:

• Configuration lines containing Part = 1 should be listed first, then those with Part = 1 with conditions, and finally those with Part = 0.
• The configuration selected by DefaultConfig cannot be modified, however, it is stored with the module state. So it always maintains the configuration state from the creation time of the module.
• Be sure to have spaces between a description key, the “=”, and its value, so, for example, use Sort = 1 instead of Sort=1.
• If tags have different tag values in different DICOM frames then they can be used for sorting or partitioning if they are listed in the used configuration string. In other words: If tags do not differ between frames, they normally will not be used for sorting or partitioning.
• Tag descriptions in a configuration are ordered: If both tags, X and Y, have changing values between DICOM frames then tag X is used instead of Y for sorting or partitioning if it listed in the configuration before the tag Y.
• Setting Sort = 0 also deactivates partitioning.
• Conditions for sorting or partitioning can be added to the configuration, such as PartCondition = “<expr>” or SortCondition = “<expr>”. In expr the following operators can be used:
  • = for strings: case-insensitive check for equality, otherwise check for equality
  • == for strings: case-sensitive check for equality, otherwise the same as =
  • like (only for strings): case-insensitive substring check
  • <, <=, >=, >, != the usual arithmetic operators (do not use for strings)

Some examples:

1. To avoid that different tag values between DICOM frames are used for partitioning set Part = 0:

   {Element = (0028,0030); Name = PixelSpacing; Sort = 1; Part = 0; }

2. To avoid that rounding errors smaller than 0.00001 in DICOM tags cause partitioning use Tolerance = <value>:

   {Element = (0028,0030); Name = PixelSpacing; Sort = 1; Part = 1; Tolerance = 0.00001; }

3. Apply parting only on specific modalities by using a PartCondition:

   {Element = (0008,0018); Name = SOPInstanceUID; Sort = 1; Part = 1; PartCondition = “Modality = CR | Modality = DR | Modality = MG | Modality = MX”; }

4. Use SortCondition to activate sorting (and therefore also partitioning) on SliceThickness if SeriesDescription does not contain the substring “mip”:

   {Element = “(0018,0050)”; Name = SliceThickness; Part = 1; Sort = 1; SortCondition = “! SeriesDescription like mip”; }

Values:

Title	Name
Default Config	DefaultConfig
User Config1	UserConfig1
User Config2	UserConfig2
User Config3	UserConfig3

Relative Distance Tolerance

name: relativeDistanceTolerance, type: Double, default: 0.25, minimum: 1e-07

The maximum difference between 2 slice distances in percents that does not split up a 3D volume (0 means 0%, 1 means 100%).

Absolute Distance Tolerance

name: absoluteDistanceTolerance, type: Double, default: 0.02, minimum: 1e-07

The maximum difference between 2 slice distances in mm that does not split up a 3D volume.

Position Tolerance MM

name: positionToleranceMM, type: Double, default: 0.0999

Absolute tolerance in mm, added to the previous value to decide if a volume is homogeneous.

Series Based Preprocessing Condition

name: seriesBasedPreprocessingCondition, type: Bool, default: FALSE, deprecated name: setSeriesBasedPreprocessingCondition

If enabled then sorting and parting on DICOM frames with identical Series Instance UID values is changed. One of its effects is that the creation of volumes with multiple time points from such frames is suppressed in favor of possibly inhomogeneous 3D volume creation. Enable this with care and only on the smallest possibly subset of frames, for example by using a FileListFilterPlugin.

Force2DPlus TCondition

name: force2DPlusTCondition, type: String, default: Modality == XA | Modality == US | Modality == RF

A DICOM tag condition string; if evaluates to true for the first image in an image set, a 2D+T image set will be created (instead of a 3D or inhomogeneous image).

Log Parting And Sorting Information

name: logPartingAndSortingInformation, type: Bool, default: FALSE

If enabled then partitioning and sorting information during the import process is logged independently from the verbose level in DPL imports.

Scan recursively

name: dplScanRecursively, type: Bool, default: TRUE

If enabled then the during any importing step for all given directory paths the subdirectories will also be scanned recursively. If disabled then only flat scans of the given directories are done.

Decompose Multi Frame Files

name: decomposeMultiFrameFiles, type: Bool, default: TRUE

If enabled then multiframe files are imported as bunches of single frames such that they can be sorted and partitioned correctly into different volumes, if necessary. WARNING: Although disabling this checkbox can improve import times significantly it also risks wrong frames orders, wrong volume subdivisions or wrong world matrices and voxel spacings. Disabling is only a backward compatibility option for some old importers which did not support enhanced multiframe files. Importing with this checkbox enabled is the strongly recommended option, because it leads to more correct results. This flag does not influence imports of single frame files or old-style multiframe files.

Copy Full Functional Group Sequences

name: copyFullFunctionalGroupSequences, type: Bool, default: TRUE

When decomposing enhanced multi-frame files (see Decompose Multi Frame Files) older versions of DirectDicomImport did not fully copy the structure of Functional Group Macros from source to decomposed DICOM frames. Now this has been added and usually defaults to true. However, older stored tests, networks or applications may not expect this additional information and are reloaded with disabled default until they are explicitly re-saved with an enabled one.

Remove private MFSQ tag

name: removePrivateMFSQTag, type: Bool, default: FALSE

If true then the sequence tag with private multiframe tag information will be removed from created multiframe tree before appending it to the image properties, otherwise it will normally be appended. Note that this influences only the ML output image but not the internally maintained version of the tree, i.e. the shown shown tag dump in ‘Tags’ will still show the frame information.

Force Orthogonal World Matrix

name: forceOrthogonalWorldMatrix, type: Bool, default: FALSE

If disabled (recommended) then the world matrix is determined from the ImageOrientationPatient vectors of the first frame for x/y and the distance vector between the two ImagePositionPatient positions of the first two frames. This is typically more reliable, especially in cases with gantry tilt scans. If enabled (not recommended) then the world matrix is always determined from the two ImageOrientationPatient vectors of the first frame in x/y and and their cross product for z. Warning: This is a backward compatibility mode, thus enable this only with care, for example in cases where ImagePositionPatient values for frames is not reliable.

Split time points to 3D volumes

name: decomposeTo3DVolumes, type: Bool, default: FALSE

If enabled then volumes with a temporal extent are decomposed to multiple 3D volumes if these 3D volumes are build from different frame sets, otherwise, if false, volumes are composed in time dimension normally. Single file multiframe volumes having temporal extents are not affected.

Allow Mixed Pixel Types

name: allowMixedPixelTypes, type: Bool, default: FALSE

This is an experimental mode which might not be stable for all configurations and therefore it should only be used on smallest possible subsets of data, for example by using a FileListFilterPlugin. If enabled then the ML data type determined from the imported frame(s) is checked against the min/max values determined according to the Min/Max Calculation mode. If different pixel types in the imported frames appear then this data type might be too small to hold all values and must be enlarged. This flag only will have effect to the imported volumes if parting on data type relevant tags is disabled, which means that HighBit, BitsStored, BitsAllocated, and PixelRepresentation may not be used for parting in the DPL configuration which influences volume compositions. This mode is usually needed only in rare cases where DICOM files shall be composed which belong to the same series but which have different pixel representations or different BitsAllocated tags.

Copy Private Top Level Source Tags

name: copyPrivateTopLevelSourceTags, type: Bool, default: TRUE

If enabled (recommended) then private top level tags from source frames are copied to created SMF trees; otherwise they are skipped. In some DICOM cases with large amounts of private tags their removal can significantly reduce memory layout, volume composition and data import times as well as created SMF tree sizes.

Notes:

• This flag does not influence private MeVis tags which are added to the created SMF tree, because they are usually needed when working with SMF trees.
• Be aware that - if private tags are removed - they are not available with generated outputs any more. Especially when storing such outputs, private tag information might not be available in further processing steps.
• This holds only for files where Structured Multiframe (SMF) trees are composed from multiple input files; if original files are reused then private tags are left unchanged.

Dpl Hard Overwrite Tag On0

name: dplHardOverwriteTagOn0, type: Bool, default: FALSE

If enabled then all tags with given Id are overwritten with Value before using it in DPL sorting and parting process. The changed tag values are not used outside this process, thus they do not appear the created output volumes or tag dumps.

Id (dplHardOverwriteTagId0)

name: dplHardOverwriteTagId0, type: String

Tag id in format (XYZC,ABCD) specifying which tag is overwritten with Value before feeding them into DPL sorting and parting process. DICOM tags in the created output volume are not affected.

Value (dplHardOverwriteTagStr0)

name: dplHardOverwriteTagStr0, type: String

Value used to overwrite all values of tags with id (XYZC,ABCD) before feeding them into DPL sorting and parting process. DICOM tags in the created output volume are not affected.

Dpl Hard Overwrite Tag On1

name: dplHardOverwriteTagOn1, type: Bool, default: FALSE

If enabled then all tags with given id are overwritten with Value before using it in DPL sorting and parting process. Tags not used in this process and in the created output volume are not affected, so this feature is limited.

Id (dplHardOverwriteTagId1)

name: dplHardOverwriteTagId1, type: String

Another setting such as dplHardOverwriteTagId0.

Value (dplHardOverwriteTagStr1)

name: dplHardOverwriteTagStr1, type: String

Another setting such as dplHardOverwriteTagStr0.

Dpl Hard Overwrite Tag On2

name: dplHardOverwriteTagOn2, type: Bool, default: FALSE

If enabled then all tags with given id are overwritten with Value before using it in DPL sorting and parting process. Tags not used in this process and in the created output volume are not affected, so this feature is limited.

Id (dplHardOverwriteTagId2)

name: dplHardOverwriteTagId2, type: String

Another setting such as dplHardOverwriteTagId0.

Value (dplHardOverwriteTagStr2)

name: dplHardOverwriteTagStr2, type: String

Another setting such as dplHardOverwriteTagStr0.

Dpl Hard Overwrite Tag On3

name: dplHardOverwriteTagOn3, type: Bool, default: FALSE

If enabled then all tags with given id are overwritten with Value before using it in DPL sorting and parting process. Tags not used in this process and in the created output volume are not affected, so this feature is limited.

Id (dplHardOverwriteTagId3)

name: dplHardOverwriteTagId3, type: String

Another setting such as dplHardOverwriteTagId0.

Value (dplHardOverwriteTagStr3)

name: dplHardOverwriteTagStr3, type: String

Another setting such as dplHardOverwriteTagStr0.

Allow Sorting According to DimensionIndexValues Tag

name: dplAllowSortingAccordingToDimensionIndexValues, type: Enum, default: Auto

Handle the special case where the ImagePositionPatient tag is legally missing on images, i.e. if the Plane Position (Patient) Macro is not required in the Per-Frame functional groups sequence, for example in multi-frame US data. Alternatively the sorting, e.g. on US modality images, sometimes can be performed using the Dimension Index Values tag instead. If this field is Auto then this sorting is active. Otherwise sorting will not be done geometrically. See also the DICOM standard, C.7.6.16 Multi-frame Functional Groups Module.

Values:

Title	Name
Auto	Auto
Off	Off

Replacement for Missing ImageOrientationPatient

name: dplWorkaroundValueForImageOrientationPatientTag, type: String

If a DICOM frame has an ImagePositionPatient tag but no or an incomplete ImageOrientationPatient tag then this value will be used as replacement if it is not empty. This can be used to import partially corrupted data sets where ImageOrientationPatient is missing. A useful value might be 1\0\0\0\1\0.

Compose Other Files Mode

name: composeOtherFilesMode, type: Enum, default: Single

Defines how same sized non DICOM files are added to the volume list.

Values:

Title	Name	Description
Single	Single	Each file is imported as one single volumes.
Heap	Heap	Files matching in extent, voxel type and color model are composed to a a heap in the next higher unused dimension. This is not performed with image data files which have DICOM information (such as DCM/Tiff pairs), because their DICOM information usually cannot be composed reliably to a new DICOM header. They will always be imported as single volume.

Silent Trial File Types

name: silentTrialFileTypes, type: String, default: .dat .raw .txt

If any files cannot be opened for any reason then this usually shall be logged for further analysis. In some cases, however, this is not desired: For example some files of type .raw can be loaded by plugins if they have appropriate format contents. Most other .raw files, however, are usually not automatically readable and should be ignored therefore. An error logging would not provide useful information. For this purpose in Silent Trial File Types a space separated list of file names and/or suffixes can be specified which shall be handled silently. Use this list with care to avoid that important error logging is suppressed!

Source Dir

name: source, type: String

The directory (tree) to be parsed for DICOM files to be composed to volumes. It can be useful to leave this field empty, especially since Full User Src Paths and Input File List allow additional input sources. See also the buttons Add Source Directory… and Add Source Files… in Configuration -> Import Directories and Configuration -> Import Files.

Cache Path

name: guiCachePath, type: String, deprecated name: cachePath

Directory where DirectDicomImport can store cache files to speed up file reloads etc. Note that this path is insensitive if Use result caching is disabled.

Hidden Fields

fullUserSrcPathsResolved

name: fullUserSrcPathsResolved, type: String, persistent: no

Internal field, which may contain expanded file names from corresponding Full User Src Paths fields if a script engine is available expanding them. Note that it might stay empty even on changes of Full User Src Paths if DirectDicomImport runs inside a script-less environment (e.g. standalone c++-tests).

fullTargetPath

name: fullTargetPath, type: String

Not supported any more: Contains the directory in which created .mlimage, .dcm, or .tiff files are written if their creation is enabled. Note that this field is insensitive if the checkboxes -wtiff: Write .tiff, -wmli: Write .mlimage, and -wdcm: Write .dcm Header in the EatDicom Options tab are disabled.

Use a combination of for example ImageSave or MLImageFormatSave and MultiFileVolumeListIteratorOutput.

processing

name: processing, type: Bool, persistent: no

While DirectDicomImport imports data this flag is on, otherwise false.

progress

name: progress, type: Float, persistent: no

Shows the state of the import process as rough completeness percentage.

inputFileListResolved

name: inputFileListResolved, type: String, persistent: no

Internal field, which may contain expanded file names from corresponding Input File List fields if a script engine is available expanding them. Note that it might stay empty even on changes of Input File List if DirectDicomImport runs inside a script-less environment (e.g. standalone c++-tests).

updateThumbNails

name: updateThumbNails, type: Trigger

This is an internal field and should not be used directly.