eRAD
PACS Server
eRAD
PACS Server
Warnings and errors resulting from a request to recollect the dotcom information are displayed on the GUI immediately if the request was submitted from the GUI, and presented as a message available at login if the request was submitted by the system.
The warnings about insufficient storage space are suppressed if the server has auto-purging disabled.
Additional logging created when a user edits a saved worklist, including the original and new filter criteria and its association with scheduled Actions. The log entry has been consolidated from two lines (a delete event and a create event) to a single line (a modify event).
Hyper streaming connections will no longer terminate due to read timeouts, avoiding the need to reestablish the connection. Additionally, stream processes are properly terminated to avoid zombie processes that could occur when managing connections.
The default field delimiters used to identify tagged fields are configurable on the Admin/Server Settings/Report page. User-specific values overriding the system defaults are available on the User Preferences/Report Panel Options page. See Reports; User Preferences
A user’s server settings (user preferences) are inherited from the group’s settings which are themselves inherited from the system default settings. Some system and group settings are configurable from GUI pages but they’re all available from configuration files, typically in var/conf.
The user’s default start page and viewer version settings, and perhaps other settings, inherit the group or system default unless overridden with a custom selection. The option to explicitly use the group or system setting has been removed from the selection list and replaced with the conventional “Use Default” tool/icon.
Data uploaded from non-DICOM-compliant media will be accepted if the object is readable, whether or not it complies with DICOM’s media and file requirements. When the data from non-DICOM-compliant media cannot be uploaded, a human readable message is presented to the user containing details, when possible.
When Action queries fail for technical reasons, the action is not applied to the results. A log entry is created showing the query criteria.
A compound filter’s details panel, on the Other Lists page, displays the name of the individual filters making up the compound list and the filter criteria applied by each individual filter.
Web viewer settings have been updated to behave like other user settings. They are based on system default settings and can be overridden by each user account. Web viewer settings do not have a group override option. Individual web viewer settings can be defined from the Web Viewer Options page on the user’s Preferences page.
DEPENDENCY NOTICE – To use this feature, the viewer must support VIW-310.
To eliminate overhead when establishing a new streaming connection, the server notifies the viewer when it can provide specific performance details, including streaming turnaround time, packet size and performance measurements.
The list of canned reports is sorted alphabetically without regard to case. The type ahead search tool ignores the case as well.
Recent updates changed the proliferation of settings stored in the user configuration file. These have been corrected. User settings are proliferated when user accounts are imported, when user or group accounts are added or edited from the GUI or web services commands, user preferences are edited, web viewer settings are edited, creating DICOM media modify the default settings, and folder worklist layouts are changed.
To protect against unintended study removal, the time a study remains on the system before it is eligible for purging defaults to 50 years for new installs. This setting, Keep New Studies For ..., can and should be customized during system installation. Existing servers that do not automatically purge studies inherit the new default if and when auto-purging is enabled. Existing servers configured to purge studies apply the existing purge period, if configured, or the previous default (7 days).
When the worklist’s patient folder’s study list contains partial results, a warning appears at the top of the study list. Partial results occur when the criteria used to match prior exams match more studies than the query qualifier settings allow.
During partial delete operations, such as deleting a study’s images and keeping its report, the reference count could drop to zero in certain conditions, causing the system to delete the entire study. This change identifies these conditions and adjusts the reference count to avoid purging the entire study.
Support for the HTTP API operStudy.jsp command has been added to the Mirth channels translating HTTP API commands to Web services commands.
The plugin information on the Plugins Information page has been updated to remove irrelevant and retired details, and update the remaining details for v8.
A new database field, Creation Date, has been added to the user account table to indicate the user account’s creation date.
NA
Hybrid streaming technology has been released. It is disabled by default and requires manual configuration to activate. Refer to the hybrid streaming documentation for an overview, technical details, configuration options and monitoring tools.
The user is prompted to save unsaved changes made in the patient folder if he/she clicks to close the page.
An optional parameter, KeepSessionAlive, has been added to the web service’s message context information. When set to true, or when not present (for backward compatibility), the server updates the last-seen timestamp.
Terms and condition acknowledgement is available. When required, users must accept the terms and conditions before gaining access to the system and/or the web viewer. By default, acknowledgement is required for new installs but disabled for upgrades. Admins can change these requirements and the terms and condition text from the Web Server page under Admin/Server Settings. Acknowledgements are logged in the system logs and available as columns (System Acknowledged and Web Viewer Acknowledged) on the User Accounts page.
The default sending address in notification emails has changed so responses can be ignored.
The media creation server’s data purge setting is disabled by default. This can be changed using the Admin/Server Settings/Disk Limit/Automatic Purge setting.
A report template macro, useMediaControl, has been added to XML template library to support playing back a dictation using external dictation software rather than the report panels (browser’s) media controls. Refer to the eRAD Layout XML Customization Manual for details.
Orders cannot be forwarded to servers in a dotcom, yet the forward tool was sometimes enabled. If an order is included in a batch forward request, the user is notified that it will be excluded from the list of forwarded data.
When copying settings from one user account to a new user account via Copy User, dashboard settings are copied.
Permissions have changed for using the Move Study tool, used to push a study from one hub server to another in the same dotcom. The tool requires Admin or Support permissions.
The layout of the device targets list on the Forward and Stop Sending Updates action setup pages has been changed to optimize the available space.
The device targets list on the user and group edit pages has been rearranged to group devices into sub-sections for easier identification.
The Everyone group is a special group created by the system and does not support batch edit requests. As a result, the Everyone group is silently excluded when batch editing multiple groups on the Group Accounts page, whether it is selected or not.
A command for importing data from DICOM media, mediaImport.epw, has been added to the web services library. Details are available in the web services programmer’s manual. The default Mirth channel configuration has been updated to translate HTTP API importMedia.jsp commands to this web services command.
The list of target devices available on the forward setup page, forward action setup page and the copy action page is configurable per-user. Configuration is available in the Target Device section of the user and group edit pages. Options include all devices, device accessible to the user’s primary group, devices in a defined category, and the list of individual devices plus DICOM media, folders. See Forward_Targets
DEPENDENCY NOTICE: Dependencies exist. See details below.
DEPENDENCY NOTICE: Requires viewer-8.0.60 and DesktopApps-8.0.28.
Registered viewer workstations (on the Devices table) have an extra
worklist field available, called Percent
Loaded. It represents the percentage of the study’s data resident
in the workstation’s cache. The field value remains empty until the user
opens at least one study in the viewer during the current user session.
NOTE: Percent loaded display relates
to the study displayed on the worklist only. Status of loaded prior
studies is not yet supported but will be in future releases.
The forward targets list shows only those dotcom servers permitted to receive studies from the source server. Generally, this is the parent, provided it’s not a worklist server, and all its children.
The dose report, when provided by the modality, is available as a tab in the default report panel. Information on customizing the dose report is available in the report’s Layout XML Customization manual.
The paas patch name label on the Server Information’s Version Information page has changed to desktop apps.
The system default for the secure connection setting has been changed to AUTO, meaning use secure communications if the source device is not listed in the local IP table as a LAN-accessible address.
Some v7 disk usage features are now available in v8, including updating the disk usage information, cleaning unnecessary data from disk, and validating the repository configuration. These tools are on the Server Info/Disk Usage page.
DEPENDENCY NOTICE: Requires platform-7.6.3.
Recorded dictations can be played back from the report page within the patient folder. Click the Listen Dictation button to pop up an audio player window with controls to start, stop and rewind playback, set the volume, and adjust the playback speed. Shortcut keys Ctrl+Shift+F8 through F12 are mapped to these commands. The mappings are configurable from the command line. These controls can be assigned to devices such as a foot pedal. See HTML_Dictation_Playback
The server allows for assigning alternative AE Titles. These can be added in the Alternative AEs section of the DICOM Settings section of the Settings page and restarted DICOM services. The server will accept DICOM associations addressed to any of them the same as it would for requests addressed to the main Storage AE. See DICOM Server
Some startup tasks can take a while to complete, causing tomcat to appear unresponsive as it initializes. To indicate tomcat is working and not hung, users receive a warning and progress indication when attempting to display the login page.
A media creation server (MCS) can configure the URL returned to the client application indicating the location of the media file, as well as the related redirection settings. The configuration tools are available in the Redirection Settings section on the mediaCreator device’s configuration page. See Media_Creation_Server; Adding_a_Device
To recollect dotcom information from the GUI, go to the Admin/Devices/Dotcom page and select the button in the Recollect Dotcom Info row. See Dotcom
When configuring a purge action to delete specific objects, the selected worklists filter’s criteria is applied so the preview list, with displayed, shows only those studies that are subject to the action. See Delete Actions (Configure Purge)
Shortcuts have been retired. The GUI tools have been removed. Existing shortcuts, if any, have been removed from existing folders.
The database field value representations (VRs) are displayed on the Admin/System/Customize Labels pages for admin users.
Users with admin or study edit permission can move a study from one hub server to another from the topmost worklist server. The tool is available in the worklist’s toolbar or floating toolbar. The selected studies appear on a curtain page from which the user selects the target hub server. Orders and shortcuts, if selected, will not be moved. A notification is sent to the user when the move starts and again when the move completes or fails. Check the messaging dashlet for notifications if they are not visible from the notification indicator. See Multi Hub Correction
Broken studies in which objects exist on multiple hubs are automatically detected by the system (specifically, the top-most server) and corrected. The feature affects new studies only. It is enabled by default and can be disabled from the MultiHub Cleanup section of the Admin/Server Configuration page by users with Support rights. The process starts after no additional objects have been acquired for five minutes. All activity resulting from this process is logged.
Resent DICOM object should not be reprocessed
Additional processing has been applied to identify resent objects with no changes so they do not get reprocessed unnecessarily.
Administrators can manually lock a user account from the user account table’s lock tool, and from the Password section of the account Edit page. Note that manually locked accounts cannot be auto- unlocked. An administrator must manually unlock a locked account. All activity resulting from this process is logged. See User Accounts
A dedicated web service user account type is introduced. Web service user account types provide no front end access to the PACS and are listed as the only user options in the Web Service device edit page. See Adding_a_New_User; Adding a DICOM Device
To prevent impatient users from submitting multiple requests that modify
data, such as study splitting, study editing, device editing, and account
editing, the activation button 
is disabled when first clicked and enabled after the action is complete.
The progress graphic in the web viewer’s image view has been disabled to avoid user confusion. The graphic remains hidden until there are system messages available.
Two new string functions are available for use with data coercion rules. toUpper() returns a string in which all characters in the input have been converted to uppercase. toLower() is similar, converting the string to lowercase. See Coercion Rules
A separate component dedicated to creating DICOM media is available. This component can run locally or on a separate server with dedicated resources, relieving a PACS server of resource conflicts at sites with heavy DICOM media creation needs. Options include the original (embedded) media creation services, local media creation services running as a standalone component and remote media creation services. The current default is the original embedded solution. A remote media creation services device requires a dedicated MCS license. See Media Creation Server
The purge action configuration curtain allows selecting specific series and objects to delete. Supported criteria include the attachment type, conversion type, modality, series description and SOP Class. See Delete Actions (Configure Purge)
UPGRADE NOTICE: Worklist definitions data moved to database. To improve action processing and prefetch performance, saved worklist definitions (layouts, filters, etc.) have been moved from files to the database. Support and group worklist definitions, as well as any user worklist definition linked to an active Action, are moved to the database at the first system startup. All remaining worklist definitions are moved in batches over time by a scheduled task (details are logged), or immediately when a user logs in the first time after upgrading.
DEPENDENCY NOTICE: This feature requires viewer-8.0.52 and eRAD Desktop Apps 8.0.26.
When a third party device resends an image using the same instance UID, the viewer might need to update the data in its cache. To make the decision, the viewer must know the time the object was last updated, but that requires effort on the server. So, sending this timestamp to the viewer in the herpa data is optional. The server can be configured to always send this timestamp value (default), send it only if the viewer requests it, or never send it.
The Preferences, Network, Location and Other sections have been included in the fields available when batch editing user accounts. Batch_User_Account_Actions
Newer browser security measures impose restrictions on setting cookies in iframes to avoid cross-site vulnerabilities. The industry standard allows using cookies in such cross-site scenarios, including iframes, but only in HTTPS. When redirecting requests to child servers, cookies are set to comply with the new restriction.
The web viewer’s memory handling was overhauled to be more efficient, allowing more web viewer sessions to run. Memory is released after all data has been transmitted to the workstation, the connection has been terminated or the data is untouched for a period of time.
The default user accounts page has been corrected. The retired user rights column has been replaced with the User Rights/Rights column. Note that a user or the system might have saved a default list using the old columns. To clear existing layouts, go to the Other Lists page, select User List from the filter menu and delete any saved default list.
Statistical data required to search database fields quickly and efficiently, specifically by the query qualifier that protects against unbounded queries, is automatically generated when it is needed.
UPGRADE NOTICE: Recollecting dotcom information is suggested for systems with Backup devices configured. Recollect dotcom information on the main dotcom servers and the backup servers.
Dotcom configuration details collected by a server have been extended to include devices that are part of the extended dotcom hierarchy, including backup devices, source devices, and other external dotcom devices. Note that this does not include other eRAD devices that are not part of the dotcom, such as an external eRAD PACS server.
The field length for a device’s URL has been increased to 64 characters.
The system default list of tasks on the Tasks page include Running, Scheduled and Retry tasks. Additionally, a user can customize his/her own default Tasks page list.
Administrators are notified when attempting to assign an existing AE Title to another device.
When updating a saved worklist filter attached to an Action, the user is prompted to apply the new filter to all matching studies, including ones already processed or just newly acquired studies.
A dedicated error message is displayed and logged when the server is unable to connect to the licensing server.
Indices were added to the log table to improve queries initiated by the Logs page.
Code optimizations were applied to histogram generation, improving registration times for large images (eg, CR) with a full range (16-bits) of pixel values.
The user selection field on the Document Type configuration page has changed to a type-ahead dropdown list to facilitate assignment on servers with many user accounts.
The media export default user profile selection field on the Media Export settings page has changed to a type-ahead dropdown list to facilitate assignment on servers with many user accounts.
There’s a new user interface for configuring and managing media creation jobs on a PACS system. Configuration settings are in the System Settings’ Media Export panel. The job manager UI is available from the Media Export tab in the main Archive menu. See Media_Export and Media_Session_Management
NA
Support for scanned document types has been restored. See Document_Type_Configuration
A batch edit option exists on the User Account worklist. When multiple entries are selected, the edit curtain displays the user permissions, plugin permission and password setting fields. The modified settings are applied to each of the selected accounts. See Batch_User_Account_Actions and Batch_Group_Action
Calculated field functions added for constructing and deconstructing dates and times, including functions to extract date/time components (year(), month(), day(), hour(), minute() and sec()), construct a date (createdate()), apply operations on date intervals (add(), sub(), mul() and div()), and convert intervals to numbers (number()) and vice versa (interval()). See Calculated_Fields_Rules
Calculated field functions added for finding a substring within a given string (indexof()), returning a substring at a specified position (substr()), concatenating two or more strings (concat()), returning a string's length (strlen()), and converting strings to numbers (number()) and vice versa (string()). See Calculated_Fields_Rules
Calculated field numeric functions modified to support floating point numbers as well as integers. Added a function to return the integer portion of a floating point number (floor()). See Calculated_Fields_Rules
Converting internally defined presentation states to DICOM-compliant objects for export includes text annotations, pointers and angle measurements.
Restrictions have been placed on LDAP identifiers to avoid conflicts with strings used by LDAP controls. Additional restrictions have been added to prevent the use of special characters that conflict with URL encoding. See LDAP_Configurations
Administrators receive an on-screen notification if the automatic license renewal fails.
When users log into the system, their settings are cached for various reasons. The number of users cached at any one time is limited, to conserve system resources. This number defaults to 200. The setting is configurable on the Server Settings/System page. When the threshold is reached, the oldest data is purged first. See System_Settings
DEPENDENCY NOTICE: While the feature itself has no dependencies, Stream Data Mode requires viewer-8.0.32 or newer.
Post Processing Actions have a configuration option to select the processed data mode. Options include HTTP Data Mode, which processes the data using gwav1 technology compatible with all previous eRAD PACS viewers, and Stream Data Mode, which processes the data using gwav3 technology supported by the latest eRAD PACS viewers. The default, which applies to all existing Post Processing Actions, is HTTP Data Mode. See Post-Process Cached Studies (Configure Post Process)
LDAP support including a configuration user interface has been added. See LDAP Configurations and the LDAP configuration manual for details.
Admins can add a custom logo to the login page of a server. Controls are located in the Admin/Server Settings/ Web Server page. See Upload_Custom_Logo
Admins can add a custom logo to the banner section of a server. Controls are located in the Admin/Server Settings/ Web Server page. See Upload_Custom_Banner_
Admins can perform a dotcom validation from the Admin/Devices/Dotcom page See Dotcom
User accounts are locked after exceeding the number of failed login attempts. The number of failures is configurable. Admins can unlock accounts from the user account page. See User Accounts
The status of forward requests is displayed after the user initiates the request, if the user chooses to see it. See Follow_Forward_Status
User ID and user name lists are handled more efficiently. Single value fields are type-ahead, meaning only those values matching the entered criteria appear on the list. For multi-value selections lists, the available user values are displayed in groups that the user can filter through and select individually.
Importing media (CD/DVD) no longer requires JNLP file support. It is now handled as a native application. See Importing_DICOM_Media
Document scanning no longer requires JNLP file support. It is now handled as a native application. See Scanning Documents