Overview

Accessing DICOM information has never been simpler. With Web Access to DICOM Persistent Objects (WADO), any Web client can request DICOM persistent objects, such as images or medical imaging reports, from a remote repository.

Today, DICOM objects are stored in repositories, such asMCM or PACS, for specified periods of time. When a medical information system wishes to connect to the repository and fetch stored DICOM objects, it must be familiar with the specific, and usually proprietary, protocol for ‘talking’ with the repository. This means that substantial efforts must be invested in developing an application that can connect to the DICOM repository. Moreover, these applications are generally not flexible enough to use when moving from one repository to another.

The WADO server simplifies the access to any DICOM repository by providing a simple mechanism for accessing DICOM persistent objects through HTTP/HTTPS, using the DICOM Unique Identifier (UID).

With WADO you can reach DICOM information from anywhere over the Web.

What is WADO?

The WADO standard specifies a Web-based service for accessing and presenting DICOM persistent objects, such as images and medical imaging reports. WADO is intended for distribution of results and images to healthcare professionals. It provides a simple mechanism for accessing a DICOM persistent object from HTML pages or XML documents, through HTTP/HTTPS, using DICOM UIDs. Data can be retrieved either in a presentation-ready form as specified by the requestor (e.g., JPEG or GIF) or in a native DICOM format.

WADO does not support querying for DICOM images.

The WADO implementation is based on the WADO standard, which is part of theDICOM specification (PS 3.18-2004).