Installation DICOM Server with KPACS viewer

  • I installed DICOM server on a server successfully. However there is no sample data. Is this supposed to be included?


    I do not see how to enter a new patient's data in Conquest. When I go to the Browse Database tab in Conquest, there are no (sample) patients present, and no way to add new patients.


    I installed KPACS viewer on a networked machine, set the port in KPACS viewer to 5678 which is the default port for DICOM Server after install. I identified the server in KPACS as Conquestsrv1, which is the default name for the server software. How do I test functionality: i.e. retrieving data from the Server?


    Please advise.
    THank you.
    Steve

  • Dear Steve


    Actually, what you did, does not sound right.


    K-PACS and ConQuest are two separate DICOM applications. Each needs its own application entity title and port on which to run (the latter only when they run on the same machine). ConQuest uses as default AE title CONQUESTSRV1 on port 5678; K-PACS uses KPServer as AE title on port 104. You can change those, of course. Make sure to restart both server components. When each has its AE title, port and IP, you can connect them with each other. Afterwards you can, for instance, send data from K-PACS to the ConQuest server. However, you should also be able to drag and drop DICOM data directly into the ConQuest database. And you can make a C-FIND ("Search" button) from K-PACS to the connected ConQuest server to find and then retrieve data.


    ConQuest server usually comes with at least one or two sample datasets. If you can't see them, your ConQuest database might not be set up correctly. Try to re-initialize it.


    For questions on how to use the ConQuest software, please use the ConQuest section in our forum. The ConQuest developers and the ConQuest community are discussing the software there as it is not one of our products.

  • Dear Steve


    I am also a bit surprised to see you trying out things on your own. I know that our U.S. sales team has connected you with one of our resellers in your region. Did you have contact with them? Did it not work out for you?


    Let us know if there is something we can do to help you evaluate your project and find the best solution.

  • Thank you for the reply, Sabine.


    I re-initialized the ConQuest database; the message said re-initialization is complete, but still there are no images or patients present in the Browse tab of ConQuest Server.


    I am going to install KPacs viewer on 3 different machines. Each has a static ip address on the LAN. Do I use port 104 for each of the three machines, with KPServer as AE title for all three? Or do I use the machine name for each PC as the AE name?


    Finally, I am not sure what you mean when you suggest I can send data from KPacs to Conquest. I thought KPacs was only a viewer; that information resided on ConQuest and was sent one way to KPacs? I have my (Agfa) CR machine connected to the ConQuest server, and anticipate that images generated by the Agfa are stored on ConQuest, and can be retrieved on KPacs. Am I missing something?




    Thanks. As I am using the demo (free) versions of the software now I am not in touch with the sales team.
    Steve

  • Dear Steve


    Thank you for the details and explanations regarding the contact to the sales team. I understand. But please keep in mind that the free software you are trying out now (K-PACS and ConQuest) is not FDA 510(k) certified and can therefore not be used in a diagnostic environment.


    Maybe your ConQuest version did not come with sample data. I can't be sure of that. The important thing is that the server is set up correctly and the database works. Just check if there are any errors shown in the log, or try sending data over and see if they turn up correctly. If you have questions, I'm sure they will be answered over at the ConQuest forum.


    If you install K-PACS on three different stations and port 104 is free to be used on all stations, then, sure, you can do so. In case, port 104 is blocked or in use by another application, you will have to use a different one. The AE titles of the K-PACS stations should be unique in your network. You may use the computer names as hostnames, too.


    Of course, K-PACS is only a viewer. But if you have data already in K-PACS and you want to have it on the PACS for archiving and distribution to the other K-PACS stations, you can send it there. The normal workflow, of course, would be to connect all modalities and the workstations with the PACS and then send the acquired studies from the modalities (e.g. your AGFA CR) to ConQuest, then use K-PACS to query ConQuest and retrieve the needed data into the local imagebox for viewing. However, in case you attach further objects to the study from within K-PACS, a secondary capture image or a report, you may want to send this data back to the ConQuest for archiving. Or if you read in patient CDs/DVDs via "Filesystem" in K-PACS, you can then send on this data to ConQuest.

  • Hi Sabine
    I now have the sample images on ConquestSRVR. I have one KPACS installation on a machine with ip xxx.xxx.x.41. In ConquestSRVR I labelled this install "RedRoomPacs" as AE, xxx.xxx.x.41 as ip; port 104, in the MAP file on ConquestSRVR.


    In KPACS, I list CONQUESTSRVR as AE, ip as xxx.xxx.x.66, port 5678. I also included, in KPACS, a line for RedRoomPacs, xxx.xxx.x.41 as ip; port 104
    When I open KPACS I clicked on "Filesystem" tab in query panel; I located the (shared) folder on ConquestSRVR and clicked "accept" however no studies show up in the KPACS window.


    What am I doing wrong? I cant see any of the dicom studies from KPACS.


    One thing: I am not sure how to check my ports. These are not my router ports, correct? As I am not seeking to open port 104 or 5678 in my router to the outside world (I know how to do that, using my network server's ip as the local host since my network server hands out DHCP addresses on my network, not my router). So, do I need to "open" ports 104 and 5678 somehow in my network? If so I dont know how to do that.


    Thank you.

  • Dear Steve


    The "Filesystem" option in K-PACS is used when you wish to import DICOM data from a specific directory into the local imagebox. This would be the case, for instance, when you receive a patient CD and want to import the DICOM images existing on this medium.


    However, with ConQuest you will communicate via DICOM protocol. Therefore, in K-PACS you go to the "Network" tab, make sure to mark the checkbox stating your ConQuest connection, then enter your search filters in the search filter panel and then click search. If the connection between K-PACS and ConQuest works correctly, you will receive the query results in the study table. You then select which studies to retrieve by marking the little checkboxes in front of every line and then click the "Viewer" button. The data is then retrieved, registered and stored in the local imagebox.


    The ports are the ones on the respective local machine, e.g. port 104 on IP xxx.xxx.x.66. If the port is blocked or already in use by another application, the K-PACS server component will not start. The same would happen with the ConQuest server. To check if a specific port is already in use, you can use the command "netstat -ano" in the command prompt. "netstat -anob" will additionally tell you which application/service uses that specific port.


    To check the connection between different computers, you can either use a normal ping (this would only check the IP but not the port) or try the telnet command to include the port.

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