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
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Open your DICOM file (⌘O) and switch to Anon mode (⌘2).
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Select the HIPAA profile — this strips the Device Serial Number (0018,1000) as part of the 18-identifier scrub.
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Apply and verify removal — switch to Edit mode (⌘3), filter for
(0018,1000). The row should not be visible. -
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. -
Apply and verify — the Device Serial Number row remains in the metadata with its original value.
Result
The HIPAA profile removes Device Serial Number and Institution Address as identifiers, while a custom keep rule lets you retain the serial number when you need device provenance. Make and model tags describe the equipment rather than the patient, so profiles generally preserve them.