DQR Admin: Plugin Configuration
First-time Setup
There are two tasks critical to enabling DQR functionality:
Configuring your XNAT to communicate with a PACS, via DIMSE or DICOMweb
Enabling your XNAT to use DQR-enabled DICOM session labeling and project routing
Additional configuration to user permissions, project setup, and other settings can be done at setup, or at any time down the road.
Navigating to Plugin Settings
Once the DQR plugin is installed, you should log in as a site administrator and go to Administer > Plugin Settings in the top navigation. You'll see a set of tabs related to the DICOM Query-Retrieve plugin.
Note: All installed plugins can place tabs on this page. DQR settings may not be the top of the list.
Adding a new PACS or DICOM AE Connection
Connecting a PACS system with an XNAT server requires configuration at both ends. Work with your local PACS Administrator to complete this process.
By default, no PACS will be connected to your DQR setup, so you will see an empty table at the top of your DQR Plugin Settings page.
In order to add a new PACS or DICOM AE connection, follow the steps here: DQR Admin: Connecting XNAT with a PACS for DQR Usage
Advanced PACS Configuration: Setting an Availability Schedule
In a high-use, data-rich environment, PACS Administrators may have specific business rules regarding how much network traffic they want to allow to and from their PACS system. The "Schedule" setting allows XNAT Administrators to restrict all use of each connected PACS to certain hours of the day. You can also throttle the data transfer rate, if desired.
To edit the Availability Schedule for a PACS, see: DQR Admin: Setting A PACS Availability Schedule
Configuring a DQR-Enabled DICOM SCP Receiver
DIMSE-enabled PACS connections require a DQR-enabled DICOM SCP Receiver. DICOMweb imports do not, but they do require the selection of a DICOM Object Identifier.
DICOMweb connections require stored credentials for logging in.
In order to receive data requested by the DICOM Query-Retrieve interface, your XNAT's image session import process must be properly configured. This means configuring a DICOM SCP Receiver that can correctly handle incoming requests from DQR and route them to the appropriate destination.
To properly set up your SCP Receiver in XNAT, see: DQR Admin: Assigning a DQR-enabled SCP Receiver
Other DQR Preferences
These preferences impact how the DICOM Query and Retrieve functions operate in your system, and who has access to them.
SETTING | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|
Calling AE Title | This AE Title is how your XNAT advertises itself to PACS systems and other DICOM AEs. It must be registered in your connected PACS system. See DQR Admin: Connecting XNAT with a PACS for DQR Usage. Default: |
PACS Threads Check Frequency | This instructs XNAT how often to check for new PACS availability rules in a given day. This should be set to 1 minute in most cases, so that there is not a long delay in behavior when the number of threads available for import changes. Uses PostgreSQL interval notation Default: |
Maximum Retrieve Attempts | Sets a limit on the number of attempts XNAT will make to retrieve data from PACS before declaring the query failed. Default: |
Retrieve Retry Wait Period | Sets a time interval in seconds between retry attempts. Default: |
Allow DQR for All Users | When disabled, an XNAT Administrator must manually enable DQR usage for each user, including themselves. See DQR Admin: How to Restrict PACS Access by User Default: |
Allow DQR for All Projects | When disabled, an XNAT administrator must manually enable DQR import and export for each project, in Project Settings. Default: |
Notify on Import | When enabled, a notification email will be sent to the requesting user and the site admin for every data import from PACS Default: |
Assume Same Session If Arrived Within | This setting was added to help deal with low-utilization schedules. If DICOM files with the same Study Instance UID, but different Study ID, arrive within this time period of each other, XNAT will assume that they belong in the same session. Uses PostgreSQL interval notation Default: |
More Details:
Assume Same Session If Arrived Within gives you a way of addressing the case where for a given study on a PACS (with a given StudyInstanceUID), some of the DICOM files have one Study ID and some have a different Study ID.
If this setting is set to 30 minutes, XNAT will assume that DICOM files with the same StudyInstanceUID belong in the same session (if subsequent files arrived within 30 minutes of the first such file) and it will give them all the Study ID of the first session that was received.
If inconsistent Study IDs is not a problem with your data and you want to turn this feature off, you can set it to 0 minutes. If you are importing test studies with the same StudyInstanceUID and different Study IDs, you may want to turn this feature off, though such test data may lead to other problems since StudyInstanceUID is used in multiple places in XNAT to distinguish between what session imported data belongs in.