First Clinical Experiences with the New DICOM Neurophysiology Standard

Abstract

Background: Exchange of EEG data among institutions is complicated due to vendor-specific proprietary EEG file formats. The DICOM standard, which has long been used for storage and exchange of imaging studies, was expanded to store neurophysiology data in 2020. Objectives: To implement DICOM as an interoperable and vendor-independent storage format for EEG recordings in the Clinic Hietzing. Methods: A pilot implementation for automated conversion of EEG data from a proprietary to standardized DICOM format was developed. Additionally, EEG review based on a central DICOM archive in a DICOM EEG viewer (encevis by AIT) was implemented. Results: More than 200 long-term video EEG recordings and over 3000 routine EEGs were archived to the central DICOM archive of the WIGEV. Conclusion: Using DICOM as a storage format for EEG data is feasible and leads to a substantial improvement of interoperability and facilitates data exchange between institutions.