DICOM and HL7
DICOM and HL7 messages can be transformed between each format.
This table shows the similarities between DICOM and HL7 messages:
DICOM | HL7 | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Hierarchical & LDL | Hierarchical | |
2 | Commands | Trigger Events | |
3 | Command Group/DIMSE | SH Segment / Message Type | Message header. Subfields form TrxID |
4 | DICOM Information Object (IOD) | Message type specific segments | Data for the message |
5 | Service-Object Pairs SOP(= DIMSE + IOD) | Specific message, for example, ORU, ADT | Message header + data |
6 | Elements | Fields | Both have types |
7 | Elements types (called VR) | Field Types | |
8 | Request/Response possible | Request/Response possible |
This table shows the differences between DICOM and HL7 messages:
DICOM | HL7 | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Upper level protocol/PDU | None | Items form TrxID also |
2 | Text and Binary | Text | Encoding depends on the field type |
3 | Elements are length delimited | Fields, components, sub-components, and segments are character delimited | |
4 | Elements can be grouped within a sequence (SQ element) | Grouping is well-defined. Messages contain segments, which contain fields, and so on. |