List of favourite exchange network destinations – In the dialog window for sending data to exchange networks, it is now possible to create a list of your favourite recipients by simply clicking on the icon of star.
Expanding the capabilities of the m-DEX exchange network – The user display of incoming and outgoing data logs has been added. There is a possibility of prioritizing alternative exchange networks for individual recipients.
Qure.AI integration unification – Qure.AI’s qCT, qXR, qER and other AI models now support a unified API for sending data for analysis and downloading analysis results
New digitization – Digitization now enables the so-called continuous recording mode. In this mode, it is for example possible not only to turn on the recording of the video during the operation, but also to add to the recording what happened 10 minutes ago. Digitization also has a completely new design.
Synchronous video playback option – If you have an examination where a recording was made simultaneously from several video sources, it is now possible to start playback of these multiple videos in synchronized mode. Synchronization mode works even if the recording of one of the videos was started at a different time than the recording of the others.
Validation of diagnostic monitors – Mandatory validation of the diagnostic monitor can be turned on for selected stations. A reminder of the need for validation is always displayed to the user at the beginning of the day. The user has a choice between performing and postponing the validation. During execution of the validation, a test study is displayed and the user must confirm that its displaying is correct. The validation information is archived in the database and it is also possible to print the validation protocol.
Option to filter studies according to the date they were saved in the archive – For smaller medical facilities or users of Dicompass.cloud mailboxes, it is now possible to view, for example, the last 30 studies in the archive according to the date they were saved.
A component for fast switching between MPR, MIP and changing slice thickness – A component can now be added directly to the OSD where it is possible to switch from a regular series to MIP with one click and to change the thickness of the reconstructed slice to multiples of the original slice thickness with another click. This component significantly speeds up the work of doctors working with CT or MR.
m-DEX exchange network – Data can now be transferred between any two DPGW installations with a very high emphasis on data security. The transmission uses double encryption – TLS + end-to-end (peer-to-peer) encryption. The transmission does not need any open inbound TCP or UDP ports to the organization, only outbound connections. The network also uses load balancing of transmissions, which ensures fast transfer of data to the target organization.
Support of recording and playback of voice notes – it is now possible to record voice notes for the currently viewed studies directly in the viewer, which allows for example the diagnostician to record the findings of the study, which is then transcribed into text by a less busy worker or by a voice recognition service, thus speeding up the work. The voice noteis saved in DICOM format, so this note can be easily saved in PACS or sent via exchange networks
Sending data from Dicompass.cloud to AET in the CloudBox local network – cloud pacs users now have the option to send data directly from the web interface to DICOM AE, which is in their local network without the need for these two networks to be directly connected. For this communication, it is sufficient that the CloudBox, which is in the user’s local network, has an enabled outgoing connection to the cloud server (which must already be enabled due to the storage of images in the cloud PACS).
Share link improvements for external workers – there were several improvements to share links that were introduced in the version 0.42. The main changes include the option to send the link directly to the patient by email or the option to configure the maximum validity period of the links by the administrator
Support of sequences in OSD labels – the values of any embedded DICOM tags can now be displayed on the OSD labels on the image, with these values not only in a specific order, but also all the values from the given sequence
Sharing examinations with external workers – It is now possible to share a specific examination with an external worker by printing the access code (and optionally handing over the PIN code). This function is intended to completely replace burning of patient image documentation on CDs. The hospital has the option to print a one-page document (optionally with the hospital’s own letterhead) directly from the PACS environment. This document contains a sixteen-digit access code. After entering it into the system, the holder of this code gets access to one given examination. The printed paper also contains a QR code enabling the examination to be displayed without the need to copy the code.
New tools and improvements of measurement functions – In this version, a tool for convenient measurement of Norberg angles is now available to use. The vertebra marking tool has also been updated – it can now be switched to marking mode in caudal or cranial direction. The length ratio measurement tool now offers the option to set which ratio value should be displayed (A:B, B:A, shorter:longer, longer: shorter). From this version, measurements are saved in the standardized DICOM Presentation State format. Measurements stored in DPGW can now be loaded and displayed in third-party viewers. Another benefit is that the saved measurement takes up almost no space in the PACS archive, unlike the saved copy of the image. The viewer can now be set so that if a measurement is found in the working set, it is automatically loaded to the original image.
Auto/manual synchronization switching improvement – The viewer supports manual and automatic synchronization of displaying multiple series. Automatic synchronization is applicable for series that share the same coordinate system on the patient’s body, while manual synchronization is intended for the cases of different patient data input. With these synchronizations, there is always a choice whether to synchronize only the position of the displayed image or also the brightness window settings or display transformations (enlargement, shift, mirroring…). From this version on, the switches for these synchronization options are unified.
Improvements and integration of other AI providers – We are not only continuously adding integrations with other AI providers of image analysis, but also improving existing integrations. As a part of the integration with Milvue, we have achieved a unique function where artificial intelligence facilitates the radiologist’s work by preparing distance and angle measurements in advance (especially on orthopedic images). These measurements can then be edited by the doctor in our viewer. We have successfully completed integrations with Qure.AI, Trask and Carebot.
On December 10, the National Cyber and Information Security Agency issued a critical warning about vulnerability CVE-2021-44228, also known as Log4Shell. On the same day, our team of developers began analyzing the vulnerability.
The result of the analysis is that the DPGW system does not demonstrate Log4Shell vulnerability.
DPGW uses Logback and SLF4J as the logging backend. Log4j itself is not used by DPGW or any of its dependencies (for libraries that use log4j, log4j-over-slf4j is used and it does not contain vulnerability).
We ensure the security of the system by making following steps:
we regularly monitor new vulnerabilities of all libraries and dependencies which our system uses on the CVE list
Integration of AI artificial intelligence providers – data can now be sent directly from the DPGW environment for analysis via Artificial Intelligence (AI). The data can be sent with a single click in the viewer and the results will open in the viewer automatically when the analysis is completed. The data can also be sent according to autorouting rulesso that the results are available as soon as the doctor first opens the image. The analyzed studies are automatically assigned labels, so that the exam can be filtered directly in the PACS according to the results of the analysis. In the viewer, the images with the findings are color-coded and the area with the findings is highlighted in them. These functions make it possible to use the capacity of radiologists more efficiently, but also to enable at least a preliminary evaluation of the image to be carried out when the current capacity of radiologists is exhausted
Cloud – a multitenant environment – after more than a year of separate development, the versions intended for operation in the Cloud and for operation in the normal environment of the hospital were merged. It is now possible to run multiple separate PACS archives in one DPGW installation
Viewing bookmarks in the browser – a new function now allows to easily open more working sets and simply switch between them by clicking on the title of the bookmark
Volume data segmentation support – by drawing an area in one of the basic projections, it is possible to remove an unwanted object from the volume data to easily hide the CT table, which distorts the MIP or VRT display. Segmentation can also be performed automatically based on density, for example by hiding bones in volume data
CD VIEWER improvement – the image viewer that can be burned to a CD has several other improvements. These include for example automatic termination of the application when closing the window of the default web browser, as well as checking for duplicate launching of the application
Image rendering optimization – owing to the availability of the new WebGL2 extension in Chromium-based browsers, we were able to implement a new display that uses data directly in the binary form in which it is loaded from DICOM images. Therefore, there is no need to convert any image data to a format that can be used directly by the graphics card. As a result, even on slower computers or computers with software emulation, the image display is even smoother than before
HTTP / 2 support – HTTP / 2 is a new version of the protocol for communication with the web server from 2015 which eliminates a number of shortcomings of the HTTP 1.1 protocol from 1997. The protocol is binary and has less overhead so the transfer itself is a bit faster. The implementation in browsers strictly requires encryption and, in addition, individual requests are processed in a stream, so the protocol has a better response when retrieving a larger amount of data. However, the main advantage for DPGW is that all major browsers allow only 6 parallel data transfers from one site at a time when using HTTP 1.1, while when using HTTP / 2, up to 100 data transfers from one site can be processed at the same time. The version of the protocol is automatically agreed on by the parties, so if there is, for example, a proxy in your network infrastructure that does not know HTTP / 2, HTTP 1.1 will be used automatically
Significant optimization of browser loading and caching – after a number of optimizations in previous versions and thanks to a continuous increase in performance and speed of connectivity of end stations, it turned out that the actual HTTP compression performed high speed networks (> 200 Mbps) decreases in speed rather than increases. Now compression is also performed when caching the browser on the server. As a result of this, the cache now holds about 60% more data and the data output is significantly faster at the same time
Improved loading and playback of ultrasound loops – until this version, the browser decompressed each frame when loading multiframe images (most pronounced on cardio ultrasounds), which in the case of loops containing several thousand frames called for high memory requirements of the target station or in case of decompression a large amount of data was transferred to the server. However, images with JPEG baseline transfer are now played directly in the native format, allowing smooth playback on a 100 Mbps network and a significant reduction in hardware requirements
End of Internet Explorer support – after half a year since the notification, this version ends support of Internet Explorer. In addition to security considerations, leaving support for this browser allows us to take advantage of more modern technologies and thus add browser features that we have not been able to implement before. The end of support of this browser has also been announced by its manufacturer Microsoft. If you still use this browser, do not hesitate to install free Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox or start using Microsoft Edge browser, which you probably already have installed on your Windows computer
Next steps in increasing security – our software regularly undergoes security penetration tests. We carefully analyze the test results and resolve any complaints. Not only thanks to the above-mentioned termination of support for the outdated Internet Explorer browser, we are moving further and further in the area of security and resistance against possible attacks
