Over 20 years of hands-on experience across systems, networking, medical imaging, and DICOM services. Fast turnaround and flexible scheduling.
From DICOM medical imaging to full IT infrastructure — practical solutions with a personal touch.
Complete CK/RX patient database conversion to DICOM format. Scalable pricing from 10 to 3,500+ patients — remotely or offsite.
Configuration of Dicoogle, Orthanc, or Sante Free PACs — included with data conversion. Enables remote search, view, and retrieval.
Per-machine licensing for the Patient DICOM Exporter App, complete with a detailed instruction manual. $2,500 per machine.
Full IDMS server and database migration to virtual machines — Hyper-V, Proxmox, VirtualBox, or VMware supported.
Multiplan / Precision migration to an all-in-one review/research workstation. Run CDMS or IDMS as a VM, includes 4-TB SSD.
Networking, computer support, and data recovery from failed HDDs, RAID volumes, and NAS systems.
We offer flexible, customized IT solutions. If you don't see what you need, reach out.
No hidden fees. Clear pricing based on scope. Contact us for custom quotes on unlisted services.
CK/RX Patient Database Conversion (DICOM)
| Patient Volume | Price |
|---|---|
| 10 – 250 patients | $5,000 |
| 251 – 500 patients | $7,500 |
| 501 – 1,000 patients | $10,000 |
| 1,001 – 1,999 patients | $12,500 |
| 2,000 – 3,499 patients | $15,000 |
| 3,500+ patients | $20,000 |
| Service | Price |
|---|---|
| PACs Server Setup Dicoogle, Orthanc, or Sante Free PACs — enables remote search, view, and retrieval of DICOM files. Included with DICOM data conversion above. |
Included* |
|
Patient DICOM Exporter App and instruction manual Licensed per machine -- Save money by running the conversion in-house via dedicated resource. (Independent third-party tool - Not affiliated with or endorsed by Accuray, Inc.) 📄 Download User's Manual (PDF) |
$2,500 |
| X-ray to DICOM Converter App and instruction manual Licensed per workstation -- View & convert your CK live X-ray images to DICOM for use in QA Tools or export to 3rd party modalities. (Independent third-party tool - Not affiliated with or endorsed by Accuray, Inc.) 📄 Download User's Manual (PDF) |
$500 |
| IDMS Server & Database Migration to Virtual Machine Customer provides server and VM platform (Hyper-V, Proxmox, VirtualBox, VMware). Windows & SQL licensing by customer. |
$15,000 |
| Multiplan / Precision → All-in-One Review Workstation Converts Multiplan/Precision into a standalone research workstation. Includes 4-TB SSD. Customer provides workstation and Windows/SQL licensing. |
$15,000 |
| Data Recovery — Failed HDDs, RAID Volumes, or NAS Systems | Contact for quote |
| Import Patient Archives from Another Site Import one or more archived patients from another site for review and replaning. | Contact for quote |
Services not listed above are available upon request.
Overview & guide for batch conversion of CDMS/IDMS patient records to DICOM and hierarchical file system — enabling long-term, system-independent access to your data.
Batch conversion of CDMS/IDMS patient records to DICOM format and hierarchical file system — making records portable and future-proof.
Long-term data access, cost savings, security compliance, and hardware/software independence from proprietary systems.
Planning station access or external drive with a copy of the database and patient archives, plus network/USB storage and the Patient Export Application.
Each exported patient is organized into a standardized hierarchical folder layout for easy navigation and retrieval.
Included at no extra cost with the data extraction service — customer provides the workstation.
Primarily an indexer and archiver. Requires an external viewer (e.g., Weasis) to view DICOM images. Best suited for query and retrieve from another application.
🔍 Query & RetrieveFull-featured PACs with search, view, export, and download. Accessible via web browser from any station on your network.
🌐 Web Browser AccessFull-featured PACs with search, view, export, and download. Available as a desktop app or accessible via web browser from any station.
🖥️ Desktop + WebContact TC Consulting to discuss your patient volume, system type, and delivery preferences.
Trusted Computer Consulting Services was founded by an independent IT professional with over 20 years of hands-on experience across systems, networking, hardware, software, and medical imaging.
We specialize in DICOM medical imaging and patient database conversion — services that require deep technical expertise and trust. Whether your facility needs to migrate thousands of patient records or set up a new PACs server, we deliver quality results with a personal, flexible approach.
Available evenings and weekends, we pride ourselves on fast turnaround and flexible scheduling that works around your organization's needs — not the other way around.
Independent IT Professional
Whether you need a DICOM conversion quote, PACs setup, or general IT support — reach out and we'll respond promptly. Available evenings and weekends.
A detailed comparison of the three leading free PACS solutions — covering system requirements, benefits, disadvantages, and when to choose each one.
When TC Consulting performs a patient DICOM data conversion, one of the most valuable components included at no extra cost is a configured PACs (Picture Archiving and Communication System) server. A PACs gives your facility the ability to remotely search, view, and retrieve exported DICOM studies from any workstation on your network — without requiring proprietary hardware or software. Three free options are supported: Orthanc, Dicoogle, and Sante Free PACs. Each has distinct strengths depending on your facility's technical resources and workflow goals.
| Feature | Orthanc | Dicoogle | Sante Free PACs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating System | Windows, Linux, macOS | Windows, Linux, macOS | Windows only |
| Built-in Viewer | Basic (Orthanc Explorer) | None — external required | Full-featured (Sante Viewer) |
| Web Browser Access | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| REST API | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes (via plugins) | ✗ No |
| Plugin / Extension Support | ✓ Extensive | ✓ Extensive (SDK) | ✗ Limited |
| External Dependencies | None (SQLite built-in) | Java JVM required | None |
| Ease of Setup | Easy | Moderate | Very Easy |
| Scalability | Moderate–High (with PostgreSQL) | Moderate | Low–Moderate |
| Best Use Case | Clinical + developer workflows | Research + metadata analytics | Simple clinical deployment |
| License | GPLv3 (open source) | GPLv3 (open source) | Freeware (proprietary) |
Ensure the PACs host is on the same network segment as the workstations that will query it. Configure firewalls to allow DICOM traffic (typically port 4242) and the web interface port (8042 for Orthanc, 8080 for Dicoogle, configurable for Sante).
DICOM files are large. A single CT study can range from 50 MB to several GB depending on slice count and modality. Plan for at least 2–3x your current archive size to accommodate growth, ideally on a RAID-backed NAS or network share.
All three systems support basic authentication. For HIPAA compliance, ensure the PACs host is on a secured, access-controlled network segment. Enable HTTPS where supported and restrict DICOM port access to known IP ranges.
The PACs server itself should be backed up regularly — both the DICOM file storage directory and the database (SQLite file for Orthanc, Lucene index for Dicoogle). Consider automated nightly backups to a separate storage location.
TC Consulting installs and configures your choice of PACs server as part of every DICOM data conversion service. Not sure which one is right for your facility?
When legacy oncology hardware reaches end of life, the data it holds doesn't have to go with it. Here's why proactive DICOM conversion and virtualization are the smart path forward.
When a medical facility invests in a new oncology system, the manufacturer is there every step of the way — pre-installation planning, on-site setup, clinical training, and long-term technical support. It's a comprehensive lifecycle of care, and rightfully so. But that support has a defined endpoint: the life of the machine itself.
What happens after the machine is decommissioned is a different story. The patient treatment data accumulated over years — dose records, imaging series, plan files, treatment histories — is often left in a precarious position. Manufacturers typically advise customers to retain the physical hardware for the purpose of historical data review. While this is a reasonable short-term strategy, it introduces a set of long-term challenges that compound over time:
Aging proprietary hardware fails. Replacement parts become scarce or unavailable entirely. The cost of keeping decommissioned machines operational solely for data access can be disproportionate to the actual access frequency.
Legacy operating systems and unpatched software present ongoing cybersecurity risks. Maintaining these systems within a HIPAA-compliant, network-secured environment requires continuous effort and expense.
Retrieving a specific patient record from a legacy system for audit, legal review, or state inspection can be a time-consuming, manual process — assuming the hardware is still functional at all.
If a clinic is acquired, merged, or sold, retaining a subset of vendor-specific physical machines may not be feasible or permitted. Data locked in proprietary hardware becomes a liability rather than an asset during these transitions.
The core problem: Legacy oncology hardware was designed to deliver treatment — not to serve as a long-term data archive. Relying on it in that role creates compounding risk that grows every year the machine sits powered on.
At TC Consulting, we recognize that the challenge of legacy data preservation requires purpose-built solutions — not workarounds. We offer customers two complementary approaches, which can be deployed independently or together depending on the facility's needs.
The time savings of properly exported, PACS-indexed data become strikingly clear when compared against the workflow of retrieving patient data from a legacy system with an archive. Multiply these differences across hundreds of records per year and the operational impact is significant.
| Step | ✅ Exported Data in PACS | ⚠️ Legacy Hardware with Archive |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Query the PACS server Search by patient name, ID, date, or modality from any authorized workstation on the network. Results return in seconds. |
Determine patient active status Log into the legacy system and check whether the patient record is in an active state or has been moved to long-term archive storage. |
| 2 | Download or export DICOM images Select the desired study and export the full DICOM series directly from the PACS to a workstation or DICOM viewer. Total retrieval time: 1–3 minutes. |
Restore patient from archive If the record is archived (common for inactive patients), initiate a manual restore process. This typically takes 20–30 minutes depending on archive size and system speed. |
| 3 | Done The full study is available for review, sharing, or export immediately. |
Export DICOM series one by one Manually export each DICOM image series individually from the legacy application — there is typically no bulk export capability. This adds several additional minutes per series on top of the restore time. |
| ⏱ | Total time: 1–3 minutes | Total time: 30–45+ minutes per patient |
Long-term impact: If your facility retrieves an average of just 5 archived patient records per week, that translates to roughly 2–4 hours of staff time lost weekly under the legacy hardware workflow — time that compounds into hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars annually. With PACS-indexed DICOM data, that same workload takes under 15 minutes. Staff time is redirected from manual archive retrieval to clinical care, and the risk of delayed access during time-sensitive audits or legal requests is effectively eliminated.
Beyond the operational benefits of faster access, there is a broader and increasingly urgent reason to ensure patient data exists in a portable, open, vendor-neutral format: the demands of regulatory compliance, legal accountability, and long-term institutional continuity.
Medical malpractice claims, personal injury litigation, and workers' compensation cases frequently require access to treatment records from years or even decades prior. DICOM files in a queryable PACS can be retrieved and produced for legal review in minutes. Records locked in proprietary legacy hardware may be inaccessible if that hardware has failed — a defensibility risk no facility should accept.
Most U.S. states mandate that oncology and radiology records be retained for a minimum of 7–10 years, and in some cases longer for minors. Regulators and accreditation bodies (TJC, ACR, state health departments) may audit data accessibility at any time. DICOM in a PACS satisfies these requirements with a documented, searchable audit trail that proprietary archives typically cannot provide.
HIPAA's Security Rule requires covered entities to maintain documented access logs and ensure the integrity of protected health information (PHI). Modern PACS systems log every query, retrieval, and export event — producing the kind of audit trail that HIPAA investigators and Office for Civil Rights (OCR) auditors expect to see. Legacy proprietary systems often lack this capability entirely.
DICOM is an ISO-recognized international standard maintained by NEMA. It is supported by every major imaging viewer, EMR platform, and clinical workstation in use today. Storing data in DICOM guarantees it will remain readable as technology evolves — unlike proprietary formats that become inaccessible when a vendor discontinues support or exits the market.
Vendor lock-in doesn't always announce itself clearly. It often reveals itself at the worst possible moment — during a system failure, a legal discovery request, or a facility acquisition — when proprietary data formats suddenly become a barrier rather than a resource. Investing in DICOM conversion before decommissioning legacy hardware is not merely a data management task; it is a risk mitigation strategy with direct implications for regulatory compliance, financial liability, and continuity of care.
Planning to retire or replace a legacy oncology system? TC Consulting can assess your data, outline the right preservation strategy, and handle the full conversion — remotely or on-site.
Covering platform selection, database backup, VM build, software installation, data migration, testing, and licensing considerations.
Migrating an IDMS (Integrated Data Management System) server to a virtual machine is one of the most impactful infrastructure projects a radiation oncology facility can undertake. By moving IDMS off aging physical hardware and into a VM, organizations reduce dependency on proprietary server equipment, improve disaster recovery posture, simplify backups, and extend the operational life of the software well beyond its original hardware. This guide walks through the full process — from choosing a virtualization platform to deploying the completed VM in production.
Four platforms are supported for IDMS VM migration. Each has different cost profiles, management models, and suitability for clinical environments. Below is a detailed breakdown of each.
| Feature | Proxmox | VMware | Hyper-V | VirtualBox |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hypervisor Type | Type-1 (bare metal) | Type-1 (bare metal) | Type-1 (bare metal) | Type-2 (hosted) |
| Cost | Free (support optional) | Subscription required | Included w/ Windows Server | Free |
| Host OS | Debian Linux | ESXi (proprietary) | Windows Server | Any OS |
| Production Ready | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | Not recommended |
| Live Migration / HA | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes (Datacenter) | ✗ No |
| Web Management UI | ✓ Built-in | vCenter (extra cost) | Windows Admin Center | ✓ Built-in |
| Best For | Cost-conscious IT teams | Enterprise / regulated | Windows-centric shops | Testing / staging |
Regardless of the virtualization platform chosen, the IDMS migration follows a consistent process. TC Consulting handles all phases of this process remotely on behalf of the customer.
Review the existing IDMS environment — Windows Server version, SQL Server version, CDMS/IDMS version, installed patches, storage requirements, and network topology. Confirm the customer's choice of virtualization platform and verify that the host server meets minimum resource requirements. Confirm with customer there is remote access to the site.
Before any migration work begins, a full backup of the CDMS/IDMS database is taken using SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) or a SQL backup agent. The backup file is verified for integrity and stored securely on external media or a network location separate from the source server. Archived patient data may be consolidated from multiple locations to a single location if preferred. This backup serves as the restore point and must be completed successfully before proceeding.
The customer is responsible for installing the chosen hypervisor of choice. For Proxmox, this means a bare-metal Linux install. For Hyper-V, the Windows Server role is enabled. For VMware, ESXi or VMWare Workstation is deployed. The host is configured with appropriate networking (VLANs, static IP), storage (local SSD, NAS, or SAN), and management access.
TC Consulting will create the Virtual CDMS/IDMS machine, install relevant Windows Server operating system and CDMS/IDMS server application, and make the Virtual Disk or Virtual Machine avaialble for download. Customer IT will need to download and import the virtual machine into their virtualization platform, or create a new Windows Server VM using the downloaded virtual disk on the hypervisor with sufficient vCPUs, RAM, and virtual disk space to match or exceed the original physical server's specifications. The customer-provided Windows Server license is applied. Best practices for VM configuration are followed: virtio or SCSI drivers for disk I/O, sufficient CPU allocation for SQL Server workloads, and snapshot capability enabled for rollback safety.
The database backup taken in Step 2 is restored onto the new VM using SSMS. Database integrity checks are run post-restore to confirm no corruption. IDMS is configured, licensed, launched and the database connection is validated before any clinical testing begins.
Comprehensive testing is performed before the system goes live: patient record retrieval, plan loading, DICOM connectivity with 3rd party imaging modalities, and network share access from clinical workstations. A representative set of patients is loaded and verified against the original system to confirm data integrity.
Once testing is complete and the customer's clinical team has approved the VM environment, the production cutover is scheduled. The physical IDMS server is taken offline, the VM is promoted to production, and clinical workstations are pointed to the new system. The original physical server is retained in a powered-down state for a defined period (typically 30–60 days) as a rollback option before being decommissioned.
To remain in compliance, the following licenses must be provided by the customer prior to the start of the migration project:
Note: TC Consulting is not a Microsoft licensing reseller and does not provide OS or SQL Server licenses. Customers should work with their Microsoft volume licensing agreement or a Microsoft partner to obtain the required licenses before the project begins.
Ready to move your IDMS server to a virtual machine? TC Consulting manages the entire process — from backup through production deployment.
Effective Date: June 1, 2026 · TC Consulting Services
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