This is a loaded question!! A DICOM file is just a text file, like any other, so can be treated as a flat file (FRL) if you wanted to go through the exercise of writing the FRL definition, etc. This could be useful if you were getting these files dumped to a directory and you needed to convert to some HL7 message type.
However, it’s more likely that what you need to do to is use the straight DICOM protocols, in which case you would need a DICOM engine to do that. There are some decent freeware ones out there, just Google them. We have done a bit with Conquest routing XRAYs from Student Health to GE PACS, although not something I was directly involved in, so I cannot give you any more details than that.
There are more programmatical tool sets, dcmtk or dcm4chee, which allow you to manipulate files and make various calls, STORESCU, FINDSCU, etc., to move data, but that requires a more in depth knowledge of the DICOM protocol. I use these to do testing with GE-Centricity PACS during upgrades, sending orders, validating MWL, grabbing some images from prod (changing demographics) for testing, but not often enough to call myself an expert.
It’s generally easier to just use the Broker that most PACS systems include (or make you buy) with their product.
Hope this helps,
Robert Milfajt
Northwestern Medicine
Chicago, IL
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