Archive Synchronization ensures that external long-term archives — such as VNAs or external PACS archives — stay aligned with the data held in the platform. When studies, images, or patient metadata change after archival, the platform automatically communicates those changes downstream so connected archives always reflect the correct clinical and legal record.
This feature is configured and managed by PACS administrators. For full setup instructions, download the Archive Synchronization Configuration Guide below.
How It Works
The platform uses two standards to keep external archives in sync:
IOCM (Imaging Object Change Management) — handles DICOM-level changes such as image deletions, study splits, and study merges. The platform sends Rejection Notes to the archive so obsolete data is suppressed or reconciled.
HL7 ADT Messaging — handles patient and demographic updates. ADT A08 is sent for standard demographic changes; ADT A40 is sent when identifiers such as MRN change.
Key Features
Automatic Archiving: Studies can be automatically pushed to one or more configured archive destinations when an exam reaches a specified status — Pending, Inflight, or Completed. Each destination can be independently configured with its own trigger, retry settings, and facility scope.
Recommended: Configure Auto Archive to trigger at Completed status. This ensures radiologists and technologists complete their workflows without interruption before archiving begins.
IOCM SupportWhen a study is changed after it has been successfully archived (e.g., images deleted, study split or merged), the platform automatically sends IOCM Rejection Notes to the archive destination — keeping the external archive accurate without manual intervention.
Gateway ManagementArchiving is routed through on-premises Gateway instances. Each Gateway is configured in the platform and linked to one or more archive destinations. Multiple Gateways can be configured per Facility Group to support different sites or network environments.
Jobs MonitoringAll archive, DICOM, IOCM, and KOS jobs are visible in real time from the Jobs tab in Gateway Management. Administrators can filter by job type, date, or status, view failure reasons, and retry failed jobs directly from the tab.
What Administrators Configure
Setup is organized into three steps:
Create a Gateway — represents the physical on-premises Gateway device. Creating a Gateway automatically provisions the required cloud resources and generates a Service Account key used to link the physical device.
Create an Archive Destination — defines the external archive (VNA or PACS archive) the Gateway will push images to, including Auto Archive trigger, IOCM support, retry settings, and facility scope.
Link the physical Gateway device — uses the Service Account key to authenticate and connect the on-premises Gateway to the platform, completing the configuration.
For PACS Administrators
The full configuration guide covers all three setup steps in detail, including field-by-field instructions, important notes on archive locking behavior, IOCM message conditions, and troubleshooting guidance for common issues such as failed jobs, Gateway connectivity errors, and IOCM suppression.
