Getting DICOM data

Getting DICOM data

Aspose.Medical provides an easy-to-use API for reading and extracting information from DICOM files.

Checking for Data Availability

There could be scenarios when you need to check if the dataset contains the required tag before retrieving specific data from a DICOM file. Method Aspose.Medical.Dicom.Dataset.Contains allows checking if data is available or not.

Aspose.Medical.Dicom.DicomFile dicomFile = DicomFile.Open("path/to/dicom/file.dcm");
Aspose.Medical.Dicom.Dataset dataset = dicomFile.Dataset;

// Define the DICOM tag for Patient Name (0010,0010)
Aspose.Medical.Dicom.Tags.Tag patientNameTag = Tag.PatientName;

// Check if the dataset contains the tag
if (dataset.Contains(patientNameTag))
{
    Console.WriteLine("Patient Name tag is available.");
}
else
{
    Console.WriteLine("Patient Name tag is not found in the DICOM file.");
}

Retrieving Single Values from a DICOM File

Some DICOM tags have only one value, such as the patient’s name or study description. Use Aspose.Medical.Dicom.Dataset.GetSingleValue<T> to retrieve a single value. The method enforces the constraint and throws an exception when it’s not met.

Aspose.Medical.Dicom.DicomFile dicomFile = DicomFile.Open("path/to/dicom/file.dcm");
Aspose.Medical.Dicom.Dataset dataset = dicomFile.Dataset;

// Define the tag for Patient's Name
Aspose.Medical.Dicom.Tags.Tag patientNameTag = Tag.PatientName;

// Retrieve the patient's name
string patientName = dataset.GetSingleValue<string>(patientNameTag);

NOTE: The method fails with an exception if the specified tag is absent in the dataset.

Retrieving Multiple Values from a DICOM File

Some DICOM tags contain multiple values—for example, Image Positions or Pixel Spacing. Use Aspose.Medical.Dicom.Dataset.GetValues<T> to retrieve multiple values.

Aspose.Medical.Dicom.DicomFile dicomFile = DicomFile.Open("path/to/dicom/file.dcm");
Aspose.Medical.Dicom.Dataset dataset = dicomFile.Dataset;

// Define the tag for Pixel Spacing
Aspose.Medical.Dicom.Tags.Tag pixelSpacingTag = Tag.PixelSpacing;

// Retrieve multiple values
System.Span<double> pixelSpacingValues = dataset.GetValues<double>(pixelSpacingTag);

Console.WriteLine("Pixel Spacing:");
foreach (double value in pixelSpacingValues)
{
    Console.WriteLine(value);
}

NOTE: The method fails with an exception if the specified tag is absent in the dataset. The method Aspose.Medical.Dicom.Dataset.FindValues returns an empty System.Span<T> if the tag is absent.

Retrieving a Default Value if a Tag is Missing

Sometimes, a DICOM tag may be missing from the file. The Aspose.Medical.Dicom.Dataset.GetSingleValueOrDefault<T> method allows you to specify a default value when the tag is absent.

Aspose.Medical.Dicom.DicomFile dicomFile = DicomFile.Open("path/to/dicom/file.dcm");
Aspose.Medical.Dicom.Dataset dataset = dicomFile.Dataset;

// Define the tag for Institution Name (0008,0080)
Aspose.Medical.Dicom.Tags.Tag institutionNameTag = Tag.InstitutionName;

// Retrieve the institution name or return "Unknown" if not found
string institutionName = dataset.GetSingleValueOrDefault<string>(institutionNameTag, "Unknown");

Console.WriteLine("Institution Name: " + institutionName);

NOTE: The method fails with an exception if the specified tag is absent in the dataset.

Retrieving a Specific Value from a Multi-Valued Tag

For For DICOM tags that contain multiple values, use the Aspose.Medical.Dicom.Dataset.GetValue<T> method to access a specific value at a given index. tags that contain multiple values, use the Aspose.Medical.Dicom.Dataset.GetValue<T> method to access a specific value at a given index.

Aspose.Medical.Dicom.DicomFile dicomFile = DicomFile.Open("path/to/dicom/file.dcm");
Aspose.Medical.Dicom.Dataset dataset = dicomFile.Dataset;

// Define the tag for Image Position
Aspose.Medical.Dicom.Tags.Tag imagePositionTag = Tag.ImagePositionPatient;

// Retrieve the first value from the Image Position Patient array
double imagePositionX = dataset.GetValue<double>(imagePositionTag, ^1);

Console.WriteLine("First Image Position X: " + imagePositionX);

NOTE: The method fails with an exception if the specified tag is absent in the dataset.

Using TryGet Methods for Safe Data Retrieval

Aspose.Medical provides Aspose.Medical.Dicom.Dataset.TryGetSingleValue<T> to safely retrieve data without raising an exception if the tag does not exist.

Aspose.Medical.Dicom.DicomFile dicomFile = DicomFile.Open("path/to/dicom/file.dcm");
Aspose.Medical.Dicom.Dataset dataset = dicomFile.Dataset;

// Try to get the patient's name safely
Aspose.Medical.Dicom.Tags.Tag tag = Tag.PatientName;
if (dataset.TryGetSingleValue(tag, out string? patientName))
{
    // Value exists - work with it
}
else
{
    // The tag was not found in the dataset
}