This guide explains step by step what you need to do to convert any type of whole slide image in a DICOM format and remove all identifiable data.

You need to have PMA.start and the DICOMizer software installed on your pc. Look for these logos:

If you don’t have PMA.start or the DICOMizer tool installed follow these steps. The Pathomation DICOMizer is currently available on Windows only (other platforms pending) and can be downloaded here: https://free.pathomation.com/download/ Make sure the DICOMizer is selected

The DICOMizer software runs as a command prompt. You will need to type a ‘Dicomize’ command. There are 3 important lines of text to type which this page will guide you through:

1. The location of the DICOMizer software
2. The location of the file you want to convert
3. The location you want the final DICOMized image to be saved.

1. Program Location
To establish the location of the DICOMizer tool on your pc: right-mouse click on the DICOMizer icon, then click properties, in the properties popup window you can copy the target file path with a right mouse click and then copy it.

Paste the program file path in a text file for future use. It should look similar to this example: c:\Users\RudyHovelinckPathoma\AppData\Local\Programs\Pathomation\Dicomizer\Dicomizer.exe

2. Source Image Location
Next you need to know the location path of the images you want to DICOMize. Open the folder on your local disk drive where your slides are located. This is a good moment create a folder where you want the DICOMized images to be stored.

In the example below we will describe how to DICOMize the image ‘TIN1’ and store the DICOMized image in the folder ‘Dicomized slides’

Next open ‘TIN1’ (1) in the PMA.start viewer, you can see the location of the image to be DICOMized in (2), select the path text and copy it (Ctrl-C or right click → copy). Paste the image file path in a text file for future use. It should look similar to this example: c:\Users\RudyHovelinckPathoma\OneDrive - Pathomation\03 Pathomation\SLIdes\TIN 1.svs

3. The Output Location
Next open the folder where you want the resulting DICOMized images to be saved. You can see the location of the folder by selecting the folder header text and copying it (Ctrl+C or right click → copy). Paste the image file path in a text file for future use. It should look similar to this example: C:\Users\RudyHovelinckPathoma\OneDrive - Pathomation\03 Pathomation\SLIdes\Dicomized slides

Next you need to run the tool through the command prompt. Type ‘cmd’ in windows start. You will see the command prompt app, click on it to start.

The Command Prompt screen will open

Now you need to combine the location information. Type this instruction: c:\Users\RudyHovelinckPathoma\AppData\Local\Programs\Pathomation\Dicomizer\Dicomizer.exe “c:\Users\RudyHovelinckPathoma\OneDrive - Pathomation\03 Pathomation\SLIdes\TIN 1.svs” “C:\Users\RudyHovelinckPathoma\OneDrive - Pathomation\03 Pathomation\SLIdes\Dicomized slides”

_It is very important to put the file location and destination between “ ” and have a space between the 3 text lines._
You also can batch several images you want to DICOMize at once, insert the input image file paths one after the other, again do not forget to add “ before and after every file name, and only include the destination path once at the end of the command like so:

c:\Users\RudyHovelinckPathoma\AppData\Local\Programs\Pathomation\Dicomizer\Dicomizer.exe
“c:\Users\RudyHovelinckPathoma\OneDrive - Pathomation\03 Pathomation\SLIdes\TIN 1.svs”
“c:\Users\RudyHovelinckPathoma\OneDrive - Pathomation\03 Pathomation\SLIdes\TIN 2.svs”
“c:\Users\RudyHovelinckPathoma\OneDrive - Pathomation\03 Pathomation\SLIdes\TIN 3.svs”
“C:\Users\RudyHovelinckPathoma\OneDrive - Pathomation\03 Pathomation\SLIdes\Dicomized slides”

Now launch the DICOMizer process by pushing the enter button on your keyboard. You will see a progress bar running and at completion you can see this screen

Now your DICOMized image(s) can be found in the destination folder with all metadata removed.

You will notice that there seem to be multiple copies of the same file. This is due to DICOM specifications which require different zoom levels to be captured in different slides. Click on any of these images to open the whole slide image. When uploading to My Pathomation, you will also see multiple files, however you can start the upload process from any of the files and all of the magnification levels and information will be uploaded.

You can remove the label by deleting the file with extension ‘label’.

The DICOMizer doesn’t support fluorescent images, or z-stacks.