VivoQuant can save DICOM images in multiple formats. The best option depends on downstream processes and image management practices, but when multiple formats can be supported, one choice may be better than others.
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Single Frames (SF)
This is the original DICOM image format. Image frames, usually slices, are saved in individual files. This presents a burden for the user to keep track of several files to represent a logical ‘image’. For the broadest support with other DICOM viewers and PACS image management software, this is the user’s optimal choice.
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Multiple Frames (MF)
This format improves upon the single frame image format by combining all of the image frames into a single file. This does mean the user may encounter limits with very large images since the DICOM standard places a limit on the size of non-compressed images (4 gigabytes). For dynamic data the user may be able to work around this limit by saving out each timepoint to a separate MF file.
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Module
This is a simple type of DICOM header which contains pixel data for all image slices and common root DICOM tags for all image frames.
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Functional Groups
This format improves further on the MF Module format by introducing metadata for individual image frames, which can include dynamic image capture timing information. These image types can be detected by reading the SOPClassUID in the DICOM header. This image SOP Class is also known as an ‘enhanced’ DICOM.
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Please consult the latest DICOM standard documentation for more on DICOM image formats.