How can I copy the metadata from one dicom to another?

Briefly, I need to convert my dicoms to analyze to manipulate them, and then need to convert them back. Some header info gets lost during this process, which I need. I found the dicomwrite section in the Documentation Center, but Matlab is not reading the image in my dicom file, so this does not work. Is there a method of saving header info to a dicom without changing the image?

Answer 1

[Sean de Wolski]

Perhaps I'm missing something, but can't you read the image in and then write it out with modified info?

For example:

info = dicominfo('CT-MONO2-16-ankle.dcm');
X = dicomread('CT-MONO2-16-ankle.dcm');

modify info

info.PatientName.FamilyName = 'Sean';
dicomwrite(X, 'sc_file.dcm',info);

%%verify

infonew = dicominfo('sc_file.dcm');
infonew.PatientName.FamilyName

[Natalie]

The dicomread command isn't working with the converted-back-from-analyze dicom files. it reads:

Warning: Extra pixel data ignored. 
> In dicomread>processRawPixels at 694
  In dicomread>newDicomread at 219
  In dicomread at 80 

X =

     Empty array: 256-by-256-by-1-by-0

I'm uncertain as to why, as my dicom viewer has no issue with the files. I was hoping there was some way to circumvent this step.

[Sean de Wolski]

How did you convert them from Analyze?

[Natalie]

I tried it two different ways, with a program called SPIN (Signal Processing in NMR) and with MIPAV (downloaded from NIH). In both cases, SPIN (the dicom viewer I use) will open up each stack of images and allow me to scroll through them correctly.

[Sean de Wolski]

Hi Natalie,

Please contact technical support and reference this thread.