Monthly Archives: April 2024

Easy DICOM Search – search parameters examples

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Working with text values

Search for exact text:

(Image.Tag('0008,0060') = 'CT')

matches CT but not ct, Ct, cT.

Search for multiple exact text:

(Image.Tag('0008,0060') In ['CT', 'MR'])

matches CT and MR, but not ct, Ct, cT, mr, Mr, mR.

Search for multiple text values (case-insensitive):

(Image.Tag('0008,0060').Match('CT, MR'))

matches CT, MR, ct, Ct, cT, mr, Mr, mR.

Search for multiple text values (case-insensitive):

(Image.Tag('0008,0060').Match('CT, MR'))

matches CT, MR, ct, Ct, cT, mr, Mr, mR.

Search for partial text matches (case-insensitive):

(Image.Tag('0008,0080').Contain('hospital'))

matches ‘Hospital of Columbia’, ‘Columbia Hospital’

Search for multiple partial text matches (case-insensitive):

(Image.Tag('0008,0080').Contain('hospital, research'))

matches ‘Hospital of Columbia’, ‘Columbia Hospital’, ‘Columbia Research Institute’, ‘Research Institute of Columbia’

Search for values starting with a specific text (case-insensitive):

(Image.Tag('0008,0080').StartWith('hospital'))

matches ‘Hospital of Columbia’ but not ‘Columbia Hospital’.

Search for values starting with multiple specific text (case-insensitive):

(Image.Tag('0008,0080').StartWith('hospital, research'))

matches ‘Hospital of Columbia’, ‘Research Institute of Columbia’, but not ‘Columbia Hospital’, ‘Columbia Research Institute’.

Search for values ending with a specific text (case-insensitive):

(Image.Tag('0008,0080').EndWith('hospital'))

matches ‘Columbia Hospital’ but not ‘Hospital of Columbia’.

Search for values ending with multiple specific text (case-insensitive):

(Image.Tag('0008,0080').EndWith('hospital, research'))

matches ‘Columbia Hospital’, ‘Columbia Research Institute’ but not ‘Hospital of Columbia’, ‘Research Institute of Columbia’.

Search for inequality values:

(Image.Tag('0008,0060') <> 'CT')

matches any value but CT.

Reverse the results of the ‘inner’ parameters:

(NOT (Image.Tag('0008,0060') = 'CT'))

Working with numbers

Match a specific value:

(Image.Tag('0010,1030') = 50)

Match one value from a list of values:

(Image.Tag('0010,1030') IN [30,33,36,39])

Match value using comparison operators:

(Image.Tag('0010,1030') > 50)
(Image.Tag('0010,1030') >= 50)
(Image.Tag('0010,1030') < 50)
(Image.Tag('0010,1030') <= 50)
(Image.Tag('0010,1030') <> 50)

Match a range of values:

(Image.Tag('0010,1030').BETWEEN(30, 60))

Reverse the results of the ‘inner’ parameters.

(NOT (Image.Tag('0010,1030').BETWEEN(30, 60)))

Working with date and time values

Dates are represented in the [year][month][day] format, so February 14, 2024 is represented as 20240214.  You then write your search parameters the same way as you would for numbers e.g.

(Image.Tag('0008,0020') = 20240214)
(Image.Tag('0008,0020') > 20240214)
(Image.Tag('0008,0020') >= 20240214)
(Image.Tag('0008,0020') < 20240214)
(Image.Tag('0008,0020') <= 20240214)
(Image.Tag('0008,0020') <> 20240214)
(Image.Tag('0008,0020') IN [20240214, 20241108]
(Image.Tag('0008,0020').BETWEEN(20240214, 20250214))

Similarly, time is represented in the [hour][minutes][second] format, so 10:30.24 PM is represented as 223024.  You then write your search parameters the same way as you would for numbers.

Working with patient age (AS-type)

Patient age can be returned in a variety of values.

Image.PatientAge – returns the age in years
Image.PatientAgeInDays – returns the age in years
Image.PatientAgeInWeeks – returns the age in weeks
Image.PatientAgeInMonths – returns the age in months

The returned values are number values, and you can then use the same search parameters for numbers e.g.

(Image.PatientAge = 50)
(Image.PatientAgeInDays >= 180)
(Image.PatientAgeInWeeks.BETWEEN(15, 30)
(Image.PatientAgeInMonths < 10)

Easy DICOM Search is the easiest tool you can use to search your DICOM image collection, and the most flexible in how you can work with the search results.

Download a 14-day trial of Easy DICOM Search now.  A 12-months license costs USD 45, and includes 12 months of support and updates.

See also:

Getting started with Easy DICOM Search

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Let’s get started using Easy DICOM Search to search for specific DICOM images.

Selecting the folders to search in

2 ways to do this.

1 – select the folders in the Explorer window on the left

2 – enter the folders directly into the Folders listing

Enter the file extensions

By default, Easy DICOM Search will search for files with the dcm and dicom extensions in the search folders.  You can add additional extensions if required.

Enter the search parameters

Let’s start with the basics – searching for text values.  To search for all CT images, enter this:

and press F5 or click on the Search files (F5) button.

Image.Tag(‘0008,0060’)

tells Easy DICOM Search to evaluate the modality tag value.

= ‘CT’

tells Easy DICOM Search to check if the value matches the value CT.

The expression is enclosed in brackets by convention.

To search for images of multiple modalities, you have 2 options:

1 – enter each condition on a separate line, using the OR parameter

2 – use the MATCH operator

One difference between the two is that the equality search is case-sensitive, which the MATCH operator is case-insensitive.

To search for multiple parameters, use the AND operator e.g.

In the above example, Easy DICOM Search will return all CT and MR head and lung images.

To search for partial text values, use the CONTAIN, STARTWITH and ENDWITH operators.  All 3 operators are case-insentivie.

For e.g. to search for all images where the institution name contains the word JIRA, enter the following:

You can search for multiple values by separating each value with a comma e.g.

To search for a phrase, enclose the phrase in double quotes e.g.

Easy DICOM Search will return only images containing the phrase jira hospital or osirix in the Institution Name tag.

Finding tag group and element values

Easy DICOM Search has a tags reference function to help you search for each tag’s group and element values

You can filter the tags by entering the complete or partial tag description.

When you double-click on the tag item, the Tags Assist function helps you write your search parameters.  For e.g. when we double-click on the Patient’s Weight tag, the following Tags Assist window is displayed.

Say we want to search for patients whose weight is between 60 and 70.

Clicking OK then generates the following search parameter for us.

Note that the Tags Assist function must be active for this to work.

Working with your search results

Your search results are displayed in an Explorer-like window.  The search parameter values are also displayed.

You can add additional columns to the file listing to display other DICOM tag values by clicking on the Add columns to search results button.

You can export the file list to the clipboard or to a text file, or export the displayed file details, or export all or part of the DICOM tags for all the listed files to an Excel spreadsheet.  See this topic for more details.

Persistent search history

Click on the View search history function to display details of all your previous searches.

From the Search History window, you can choose to display the search results again, or perform the search again using the same parameters if you have added new files to search in.

Easy DICOM Search is the easiest tool you can use to search your DICOM image collection, and the most flexible in how you can work with the search results.

Download a 14-day trial of Easy DICOM Search now.  A 12-months license costs USD 45, and includes 12 months of support and updates.

See also:

Easy DICOM Search released

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Need to search for your DICOM images matching specific tag values?  Like searching for CT images of the lung of male patients aged between 70 and 80?  Easy DICOM Search can help you with that.

Easy DICOM Search helps you search for images matching specific attributes using simple expressions like this:

You can search for any top-level tag value.  If the tag isn’t named, you can use the tag group and element directly e.g.

In this example, the 0008,0090 tag refers to the referring physician name.

You can also search on file attributes, in addition to DICOM tag values e.g.

Here, Easy DICOM Search will return all CT image files larger than 1 MB in size, created after January 1, 2024.

Working with your search results

Your search results are displayed in a Explorer-like window, and automatically displays the  tag values that match your search parameters.

The context menu of each DICOM file displays the same options you would see in Windows Explorer.

You can export the list of files, and even export all or part of the tag values of each file, to an Excel worksheet, complete with image thumbnails.

Persistent search results

Your search results are automatically stored and recalled when you open Easy DICOM Search.  You do not have to repeat the searches each time, unless you have new files.  In these situations, you can simply open the search history, and choose to perform the search again using the same parameters.  There is no need to write the search parameters again.

Easy DICOM Search is the easiest tool you can use to search your DICOM image collection, and the most flexible in how you can work with the search results.

Download a 14-day trial of Easy DICOM Search now.  A 12-months license costs USD 45, and includes 12 months of support and updates.

See also: