DICOM, PACS and Networks — Level 2: Fault-Finding
From the missing study or failed transfer to the cause: DICOM associations, worklist, storage, networks, workstations and archives
Part of the program: DICOM and PACS Engineer — program (8 h) →
The general course taught you to configure a DICOM node, test it layer by layer and return a link to service. Level 2 starts where those tests all pass and the problem stays. This course teaches the engineer to collect evidence from the modality, the PACS and the workstation at the same moment, read an association reject or a status code for what it really says, follow a worklist entry or a study through every system it touches, find the network fault that ping cannot see, recover a workstation or a database without losing images, and hand the system back with proof that every study is complete and under the right patient.
Echo passed. Ping passed. The study is still not in the archive.
- Studies go missing in the gap between three owners: the modality vendor sees 'sent', the PACS vendor sees nothing wrong, hospital IT sees a working network, and nobody has the log lines that settle it.
- Engineers clear send queues, rebuild databases and reinstall viewers to make an error go away, and lose images or create duplicates under the wrong patient in the process.
- After a disk, database or network repair the system goes back to work on the strength of one echo test, without counting what reached the archive, what was committed and what is still sitting on the console.
After the course you can
Curriculum
Collect and line up logs from the modality, the PACS and the workstation, reproduce a transfer fault with a test object, decide when a short packet capture is justified, and know which changes are yours to make and which belong to another owner.free
22 min02DICOM associations in depth: AE titles, presentation contexts, transfer syntaxes and rejects
Read an association request, accept, reject or abort and a DIMSE status code, say which side refused what and why, and use two conformance statements to prove it.24 min03Worklist and patient data errors: MWL queries, HL7 links, merges, wrong-patient risks and MPPS
Trace a worklist or patient data fault from the HIS order through the HL7 interface, the RIS and the modality, recognise the configurations that cause merges and wrong-patient images, and check that MPPS closes the loop.23 min04Storage, storage commitment and query/retrieve: C-STORE, commitment, C-FIND/C-MOVE, routing and forwarding
Follow a study from the modality queue to committed storage, diagnose commitment, retrieve and forwarding failures, and clear a stuck queue or database without losing or duplicating objects.24 min05Networks at Level 2: VLANs, firewalls, addressing, MTU, duplex, DNS and time
Find the network faults that ping and echo do not reveal: VLAN and access control, stateful firewalls and NAT, address and MAC conflicts, multi-homed hosts, MTU and duplex problems, DNS and time synchronisation, using simple read-only tools in a fixed order.24 min06Workstations and archives: disk and RAID faults, database corruption, restores, updates and security
Diagnose disk, RAID, power and database faults on imaging workstations and archives without losing data, restore a system safely, and coordinate updates, antivirus and security with hospital IT without weakening protection.24 min07Viewers, image display and print links: objects that will not open, displays, compression, measurements and DICOM print
Find why a study opens in one viewer and not another, recognise display, compression and measurement problems that change what the radiologist sees, and fault-find the print link from the PACS or workstation side.23 min08Complex cases and return to service: data integrity, documentation, coordination and who decides
Run a fault that spans several owners to its cause, prove after repair that every study is complete, committed and under the right patient, restore security and backups, write the record, and leave each decision with the person entitled to make it.24 min—Exam
25 · 40 min · 75 %
The certificate
Pass the exam and get a certificate of course completion with your name, hours and score. Every certificate has a unique number and a public verification page, so an employer or a customer can check it in one click. It confirms completion of the course; it is not an educational document (diploma) and not a manufacturer authorisation.
Who it is for
Who it is for
- Engineers who have completed DICOM, PACS and Networks for Service Engineers or have equivalent experience
- Field engineers who install and repair CT, MRI, X-ray, mammography, ultrasound and their workstations
- Hospital biomedical / clinical engineering and IT staff who handle image transfer faults between modalities, PACS and RIS
Who teaches
Written by a service engineer working with medical equipment since 2014, including 6.5 years at GE Healthcare and service supervision at Mindray, together with the engineers of Service Engineer.
FAQ
Is this manufacturer or PACS-vendor training?
No. It is independent, vendor-neutral training. It does not replace any manufacturer's or PACS vendor's procedures, does not grant authorisation, and does not give access to service software, passwords, licence keys or options.
Do I need the general course first?
Yes. DICOM, PACS and Networks for Service Engineers is the prerequisite: AE titles, ports, the main DICOM services, IP basics, worklist set-up, character sets, data protection, backups and the basic return-to-service tests are assumed here and not repeated. Medical Film Printers and Imagers — Level 1 is recommended before lesson 7.
Will I need to capture network traffic?
The course shows when a capture helps and how to read the parts of an association that matter. A capture on a hospital network contains patient data, so it is taken only with written permission from hospital IT, kept short, stored securely and deleted afterwards.
Does it teach PACS administration?
No. It teaches the engineer to prove where a fault is and what is needed to fix it. Changes to the PACS, the RIS, the network and patient records stay with their owners and authorised staff.
What does the certificate say?
Your name, the course, the hours, the date and your exam score, with a unique number and a public verification page.
Can my company buy seats for a team?
Yes: five seats and a progress overview for the manager.
Languages?
English and Russian.