Guide
How to de-identify DICOM for teaching.
Identifiers can sit in the DICOM header and in text burned into the pixels. NoustaView's DICOM export removes the header fields listed below and Share Case uploads a de-identified copy, but burned-in text needs your review.
Two places identifiers hide
The first is the DICOM header, the tags stored alongside the pixels. The second is the image itself. Some ultrasound and screen-capture images carry text burned into the pixels, where it cannot be removed by dropping identifiers alone.
What NoustaView's DICOM export removes
DICOM export is a Supporter feature. It keeps the original file and changes these fields: the patient name is replaced with "Anonymized"; patient IDs, accession number, study ID and admission ID are removed; study, series, acquisition and content dates and times, birth date and a few other procedure dates are removed; and institution name, address, department and staff names (referring, performing, reading and operator) are removed.
It keeps the Study, Series and SOP Instance UIDs, private vendor tags, the contents of nested sequences, text burned into the image, and some other dates (for example the secondary capture date and time). If a kept field matters for your teaching set, check the exported file in a DICOM tag viewer before sharing it.
With the watermark on, or when the file cannot be exported as-is (for example an MPR or 3D view), the export is a rendered image instead.
The Anonymize toggle is a different thing, covered below.
Share Case
Share Case (Supporter and Pro) sends a de-identified copy to a link you control. A preview is mandatory before anything is sent, and only what you have reviewed and confirmed in that step goes anywhere. Nothing is uploaded unless you choose Share Case.
Share Case flags series likely to contain burned-in text, based on their image type and tags. Open a flagged series' Redact text panel and the viewer looks for the text on your device. The detection runs in your browser and uploads nothing, and you choose what to hide.
Detection can miss text. Check the preview: Redact text reduces what a recipient sees without guaranteeing the copy is fully de-identified.
Anonymize is not de-identification
The Anonymize toggle hides name, ID and date of birth in the on-screen overlays only. It does not change the file. Use it for a screen share or a projector, not as a way to prepare a file for others.
Before you share: a checklist
- Open the preview and read it as the recipient would.
- Scroll every series for burned-in text, not only the flagged ones.
- Check any labels or descriptions you typed yourself.
- Your institution's rules decide what counts as de-identified enough.
Related
It is not a certified medical device and is not intended for primary diagnostic use, and it does not replace a calibrated diagnostic workstation.