Surgical DICOM solutions
Interaction and communication between devices require protocols and data types. To assure interoperability between devices manufactured by different vendors, these protocols and data types need to be standardized. One major standard the TIMMS architecture uses is “Digital Imaging and Communication inMedicine” (DICOM). This standard is commonly accepted and used for the transport and storage of medical images in radiology. The Surgical DICOMSolutions Group (SDS) is a part of the TIMMS group which focuses on the application of DICOM in surgery and the extension of DICOM to achieve TIMMS functionality. The SDS group closely interacts with the DICOM Working Groups 24 (DICOM in Surgery) and 6 (Base Standard) to create DICOM supplements (extensions).
At the same time, the SDS group monitors other communication standards which might be used to implement those parts of the TIMMS architecture that are not likely to be realized based on the DICOM standard.
Surface Segmentation
Started in 2006, Supplement 131 was released in October 2008 as final text by the DICOM Working Group 6. The Supplement adds the functionality of handling (store, query, and retrieve) surface models of patient anatomy in a PACS network. Such surface models are frequently used in surgery planning and CAS.
- Figure 1:Surface model of patient anatomy
Implant Templates
In all surgical disciplines, implants are used for several purposes. With the increase in quality of preoperative imaging, the usage of these images for implantation planning finds its way into clinical practice in a growing number of surgical interventions. For planning, digital templates, i.e. graphical representations of the implants, are registered with patient images. In DICOM Supplement 131, a data structure is specified for the description of implant templates. Examples for implant templates are shown in Figure 2, on the left.
Implantation Plan SR Document
The Supplement 134 “Implantation Plan SR Document” facilitate the communication of digital OR plans between planning systems and intraoperative assistance systems. Beside the communication of planning results, the Implantation Plan SR Document can also be used for documentation issues, and it can help to enhance information logistics within the workflow.The content and structure of an implantation plan is shown in Figure 2. The supplement is based on the DICOMconcept of Structured Reports (SR).
- Figure 2: Implantation plan (example). Patient data and template data are referenced
