MIRC TCE Export Manager

ExportManager is an implementation of the IHE Teaching Files and Clinical Trials (TCE) integration profile Export Manager actor. This article provides links to the ExportManager and ManifestGenerator programs.

1 ExportManager

The installer for ExportManager is available on the RSNA MIRC site. Click the Download Software link in the left pane of the MIRC home page to obtain a list of all the available software.

To install the program, download the installer, save it on your disk and run it. On a Windows platform, you can simply double-click the program. On other platforms, you can use the command: java -jar ExportManager-installer.jar.

The installer will create a directory called ExportManager wherever you choose and then put all the required files in it.

To run ExportManager, run the ExportManager.jar file, using a command similar to the one you used to run the installer.

When ExportManager first runs, its export function is disabled. The Help tab provides information for configuring the destination URL, all the other program parameters, and the anonymization scripts.

In normal operation, the program runs unattended; however, for IHE Connectaton testing, it may be useful to monitor the Event Log and Queue Status, both of which can be viewed either by clicking the corresponding tab or by accessing the built-in HTTP server with a browser.

If objects are received which cannot be anonymized or transmitted, they are moved to quarantine directories with corresponding names. For convenience, there is a DICOM file dump utility included in the Quarantine tab that displays the contents of any DICOM file.

2 ManifestGenerator

ManifestGenerator is a minimal test utility for constructing IHE TCE manifests referencing DICOM instances. ManifestGenerator does not create complete TCE manifests, however. It constructs manifests which contain only the necessary elements for an Export Manager that does not have to query for the instances. All the elements which are included are correct as defined by the TCE integration profile, but elements unnecessary for the purpose of testing the Export Manager are omitted. These manifests, therefore, will fail when tested by almost any validation program.

The ManifestGenerator installer can be downloaded from the RSNA MIRC site. The program requires Java 1.5.

To install the program, download the installer, save it on your disk and run it. The installer will create a directory called ManifestGenerator wherever you choose and then put all the required files in it.

To run ManifestGenerator, run the ManifestGenerator.jar file.

The program provides two tabs, one for selecting instances for inclusion in the manifest, and one for entering textual information.

In the Instance Selector tab, click the Open Directory button to get a file chooser. Navigate to the directory containing the desired instances. Check or uncheck files to select or deselect instances for the manifest. All the instances must be in the same directory. As instances are selected, the right pane displays their DICOM elements.

In the Manifest Constructor tab, enter whatever information you wish in the fields provided. The text pane at the bottom allows you to enter text data for the manifest. No testing of the entered information is done. Make certain that you insert a UID. No automatic UID generation is provided.

When the Save button is clicked at the bottom of the Manifest Constructor tab, the program constructs a manifest and saves it in the same directory with the instances. Any selected instance files that do not parse are not included in the manifest. The manifest file is named [UID].kos. After the manifest is saved, the program then constructs a zip file containing the manifest and all the referenced instances. The zip file is named [UID].kos.zip and is stored in the same directory with the instances and the manifest. This zip file is a convenient way to package test sets, especially when combined with the use of the FileSender program.

3 FileSender

FileSender is a MIRC utility program that can transmit files using the DICOM, HTTP, and HTTPS protocols. For more information and access to the program, see FileSender.

In the context of the ExportManager and ManifestGenerator programs, FileSender can transmit manifests and instances for testing.

The program includes a special mode for automatically unpacking and transmitting the contents of zip files like those constructed by the ManifestGenerator program. This mode is enabled by checking the Unpack zip files checkbox at the bottom of the right pane. When unpacking a zip file, this mode will unpack any contained zip files as well, allowing large datasets to be constructed by zipping together all the zip files for individual manifests and their instances. FileSender will then, with a single command, unpack the entire tree of zip files down to their individual non-zip constituents and send everything. All extracted files are written to the default temp directory and deleted after transmission.