Retain Device Identity option

Optionally retain device make/model for equipment-specific analysis.

Problem

Certain research protocols require knowledge of the imaging device — its manufacturer, model name, and sometimes serial number — to control for inter-scanner variability in quantitative analysis. The HIPAA Safe Harbor method removes Device Serial Number as a direct identifier, but you may want to keep it (or remove it selectively) depending on your IRB protocol and data use agreement.

Steps

1. Open your DICOM file (⌘O) and switch to Anon mode (⌘2).

2. Select the HIPAA profile — this strips the Device Serial Number (0018,1000) as part of the 18-identifier scrub.

3. Apply and verify removal — switch to Edit mode (⌘3), filter for (0018,1000). The row should not be visible.

4. To retain device identity instead — use the Custom profile and add a rule: tag (0018,1000), action keep. This overrides the HIPAA profile’s default removal.

5. Apply and verify — the Device Serial Number row remains in the metadata with its original value.

Expected Result

• HIPAA profile: Device Serial Number (0018,1000) is removed entirely.
• Custom profile with keep rule: Device Serial Number is preserved.
• Institution Address (0008,0081) is also removed by the HIPAA profile as a separate identifier.
• Device make/model tags (0008,0070, 0008,1090) are generally preserved by all profiles since they are not PHI identifiers — they describe the equipment, not the patient.