• WG-12 addresses DICOM Standardization issues of modality-specific interest to users of medical ultrasound imaging and review devices.

Current Supplements, Work and Objectives:

• There is currently no approved work item for the domain, since the domain is still in the process of defining its strategy and road map.
• CPs

[2019] CP 1951 “Transducer SN”
This CP aims at making the serial number of the transducer available in the public DICOM header. This information can be used to find a backlog of scanned patients in case of infections. Furthermore, it eliminates a manual step in the ultrasound image quality control process.

[2019] Questionnaire for OEMs on the use of Ultrasound pixel encoding
To get an overview of the type(s) of Ultrasound pixel encoding in use by the different OEMs, a questionnaire was written and sent out to OEMs.

[2019] CP “PixelMap” (working name, in draft stage)
This work focusses on making the location of Ultrasound image pixels known to physicists and researchers via improvements to the existing Field of View Overlay Group (0018,16xx). This information can be used to develop vendor non-specific Artificial Intelligence applications for the ultrasound modality, as well as help to further automate image quality checks.=

[2019] Display consistency and GSDF calibration
This work focusses on encouraging OEMs to implement the GSDF calibration element in their public header, to avoid inconsistency between Ultrasound scanner monitors and reading room monitors.

[2019] Cardiac strain reporting
Developing cardiac strain reporting measurements for structured reporting in conjunction with ASE/EACVI groups. CP for LV strain in progress, RV and LA strain and segmental topics to be addressed next.

Challenges and Opportunities (Environment):

• Encouraging OEMs to endorse CP for “PixelMap” work item has been challenging so far, as the improvement for the end-user is on the long-term.
• Encourage users to participate in finding solutions.
• In the general Radiography and Angiography lab environment already various non-image data exist and need to be exchanged to assure flow of information. The different departments are increasingly switching to digital communication and rely on implementation of Standards.
• The WG-01 work items focus on the cardiac procedures, but can be taken as baseline to identify challenges in the general radiology environment. Either co-work items can evolve or WG-02 takes over the concepts to produce Standards in the non-cardiac environment.
• Ongoing challenges in getting adoption of the ultrasound structured reporting Standards (Supplement 169) by vendors.

Future Roadmap and Objectives (Committee Direction):

• ASE/EACVI is proposing development of a new Strain Structured Report template following the pattern of Simplified Adult Echocardiography report. ASE/EACVI is also suggesting development of a new ultrasound image IOD suitable for speckle analysis.
• American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) is proposing enhancement to the Ultrasound Image IODs to include acquisition information to support image Quality Control activities.

Past Work

• [2016]    Supplement 169 “Simplified Adult Echocardiographic Report”
• [2009]    Supplement 43 “Storage of 3D Ultrasound Images” and related CPs
• [2009]    Supplement 78 “Fetal, Pediatric, and Congenital Cardiac Ultrasound Reports”