Uploading DICOM images to Vetlucent

Uploading DICOM images to Vetlucent is possible through the case creation page with full client-side anonymization.

Here is what occurs: 

1. drag and drop: drag and drop the DICOM folder into the case upload area (this will not be uploaded at this stage)

2. anonymization: the files will be processed on your computer with all fields potentially containing patient information being anonymized

3. review: at this stage, you can review all the images and fields to check what fields have been kept for the upload; these are the bare minimum to allow identification of modality, orientation etc...

4. optimize: you can trim unwanted images from the start and end of the stack as well as pan and zoom/crop (note: cropping will permanently remove unwanted regions and remove co-registration for future use). Adjusting the window/level/contrast must be done in a DICOM viewer prior to upload, and the optimized images exported as DICOM.

5. upload: once you are happy you can choose which images to upload. Only then will the fully anonymized images be sent from your browser to the Vetlucent server

6. web-optimization: our servers then store the anonymized DICOM files and convert them to smaller size web-optimized images for viewing. 

7. flip and rotate: after uploading the images, you may flip or rotate to the desired orientation. The right side of the animal should be on the left of the image.

DICOM processing

Ongoing work to handle DICOM files better and enable future native DICOM viewing and manipulation includes behind-the-scenes work to revamp the image processing pipeline responsible for step (6) above.

In order to minimize disruption while allowing our users to benefit from this work, we made it possible to opt for individual stacks into using this new processing pipeline. In particular, if a DICOM upload looks correct in the uploader but displays incorrectly in the case viewer after processing, using the new DICOM processing tool in the uploader to switch the series to use the "latest" image processing pipeline may help. When switching between "legacy" and "latest" in the dropdown, the tool will display a preview. Clicking "Apply" will enable the previewed representation to be displayed for all visitors.

When a new series is uploaded, the uploader now shows the progress of server-side processing and will automatically reload the viewer, displaying the web-optimized images. This is in part to help authors decide whether the "latest" image processing pipeline should be used for a certain stack of DICOM sources. If the displayed image changes significantly when the web-optimized images load, it might be worth having a look whether the new processing mode fixes the issue.

Native DICOM manipulation

As of early-2025, native DICOM viewing capabilities are not available. However, as the DICOM case library expands, the ability to use a PACS-like DICOM viewer for these cases is planned. There is no timeline for this.