16.1. DICOM Tags. General Information

A DICOM file presents data as a sequence of elements containing information about the image (graph etc.), where the last element has the image (graph etc.) itself. Each element comprises several parts, including:

• Tag — a unique element identifier comprised of a pair of values represented in the hexadecimal number system and determining the group number and the element number

• Data type — a line showing the data type abbreviation (two symbols)

• Data field length;

• Data — the information comprised in the element, including the image (graph etc.) itself

If the Data field contains information that cannot be represented in the form of a text (e.g. an image or graph), then the respective column will read: Binary content. Hidden.

If the tag is standard, its name will be shown. If the tag is reserved by a certain modality manufacturer or there is an error in its name, then the field will read: Unknown Tag & Data. To learn about the data contained in this tag, you will need to study the documents for the modality used in the study. The 7fe0,0010 (PixelData) tag contains an image, a graph or some other visual data.

Examples of elements: