From dced8d0ef6d806d722617b0b838f3f0b876cfff2 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Jennings Zhang Date: Thu, 2 Jul 2026 15:55:27 -0400 Subject: [PATCH] Add dicom_deidentification.md --- docs/tutorials/dicom_deidentification.md | 52 ++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 52 insertions(+) create mode 100644 docs/tutorials/dicom_deidentification.md diff --git a/docs/tutorials/dicom_deidentification.md b/docs/tutorials/dicom_deidentification.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1441ce1 --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/tutorials/dicom_deidentification.md @@ -0,0 +1,52 @@ +# DICOM De-Identification + +DICOM anonymization (a type of de-identification) is the commonest workflow in +_ChRIS_. This page describes the DICOM anonymization pipeline. + +## Background + +The [DICOM file format](https://nipy.org/nibabel/dicom/dicom_intro.html) is +the international standard for how medical images are produced, transmitted, +and stored. Hence, de-identification of DICOM data is the first step of any +imaging research analysis. + +Protected health information (PHI) can be found in DICOM files in three forms: + +- **Metadata** as DICOM tags, e.g. PatientName, PatientSex, PatientBirthDate, etc. +- **Burned text**, where PHI appears as text in the image (the PixelData). +- **Identifiable anatomy** e.g. the face which is present on head MRI scans. + +Currently, metadata anonymization and burned text removal are available as _ChRIS_ pipelines. + +### DICOM Tag Anonymization + +PHI found in DICOM tags can be anonymized by deleting those tags. This can be done: + +- Manually +- Automatically, using an "allow-list" (i.e. remove all tags except for a few) +- Automatically, using a "deny-list" (i.e. keep all tags except for a few) + +:::tip + +Generally, "allow-list" approaches are considered safer. The risk of accidental +PHI leakage is lower using an "allow-list" policy because it is stricter. + +::: + +## DICOM De-Identification in _ChRIS_ + +The following _ChRIS_ plugins are available: + +| Plugin Name | Description | +|-------------|-------------| +| [pl-dicomize](https://github.com/FNNDSC/pl-dicomize) | Among its multiple purposes, does DICOM anonymization by removing _all_ DICOM tags except for the image data. | +| [pl-dicom_headerEdit](https://github.com/FNNDSC/pl-dicom_headerEdit) | Edits specified DICOM tags. This is a "deny-list" approach. | +| [pl-dcm_textlocr](https://github.com/FNNDSC/pl-dcm_txtlocr) | Detects burned text PHI using optical-character recognition (OCR). | +| [pl-image_textRemove](https://github.com/FNNDSC/pl-image_textRemove) | Detects and removes burned-in text from images using OCR. | + +These plugins are the building blocks of our DICOM de-identification pipelines. +We have many pipelines tailored for specific workflows (e.g. ultrasound +anonymization, anon → analyze → upload, ...), +please contact us +for more information. +