DICOM Worklist
Reference Guide
ARIA Radiation Therapy Management
P1058793-002-B AUGUST 2025
Legal Information
Publication ID
P1058793-002-B
Publication Title
DICOM Worklist Reference Guide
Abstract
This document provides reference information and procedures for DICOM Worklist 18.0.
This publication is the English-language original.
Notice
Information in this publication is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of
Varian.
Copyright
© 2019–2025 Varian Medical Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Published in India.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, or transmitted without the express written permission of Varian
Medical Systems, Inc.
Trademarks
All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Other Legal Information
For other legal information refer to the instructions for use of the device.
2 DICOM Worklist Reference Guide
Table of Contents
About This Guide .......................................................................................................... 4
Who Should Read This Guide ........................................................................................................... 4
Visual Cues ....................................................................................................................................... 4
DICOM Worklist Configuration Workspace ................................................................ 5
Introduction to DICOM Worklist ......................................................................................................... 5
DICOM Worklist Configuration .......................................................................................................... 5
Open DICOM Worklist Configuration ................................................................................................ 6
DICOM Worklist Service Configuration ...................................................................... 7
Configure DICOM Worklist Services ................................................................................................. 7
Add DICOM Worklist Service .......................................................................................................... 11
Edit DICOM Worklist Service .......................................................................................................... 11
Add or Modify Trusted AE Service .................................................................................................. 11
Securities ......................................................................................................................................... 11
Preconditions and DICOM Worklist Workflows ............................................................................... 11
Workflow for Partial Treatments ...................................................................................................... 13
Appendix: References ................................................................................................ 14
Abbreviations ................................................................................................................................... 14
References ...................................................................................................................................... 14
Table of Contents 3
About This Guide
Who Should Read This Guide
This document contains detailed information about how to use the DICOM Worklist application.
The guide is written mainly for medical physicists, radiation oncologists, dosimetrists, radiation
therapists, service technicians, IT, and other staff members of the radiation oncology team.
Visual Cues
This publication uses the following visual cues to help you find information:
WARNING: A warning describes actions or conditions that can result in serious
injury or death.
CAUTION: A caution describes hazardous actions or conditions that can result in
minor or moderate injury.
NOTICE: A notice describes actions or conditions that can result in damage to
equipment or loss of data.
Note: A note describes information that may pertain to only some conditions, readers, or
sites.
Tip: A tip describes useful but optional information such as a shortcut, reminder, or
suggestion, to help get optimal performance from the equipment or software.
4 DICOM Worklist Reference Guide
DICOM Worklist Configuration Workspace
Introduction to DICOM Worklist
DICOM Worklist (DWL), along with DICOM services, is a connectivity solution between the Varian
Treatment Planning and Management System (TPMS) and third-party treatment delivery systems
and diagnostic imaging systems.
With DICOM Worklist, the third-party treatment delivery systems and diagnostic imaging systems
™
can query and retrieve patient appointments scheduled in ARIA , update appointments, and
capture procedure codes for billing in ARIA.
DICOM Worklist Configuration
You can use the DICOM Worklist Configuration tool to create and manage the DICOM Worklist
services.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Figure 1 DICOM Worklist Configuration
1. Add Service 7. Refresh
2. Delete Service 8. Start Selected Service
3. Configure Service 9. Stop Selected Service
4. Service Recovery Setting 10. Restart Selected Service
5. Enable Selected Service 11. Terminate Selected Service
6. Disable Selected Service 12. List View of Services Created
The DICOM Worklist services you create are displayed in the list view (12).
DICOM Worklist Configuration Workspace 5
Open DICOM Worklist Configuration
User authentication is required for opening the configuration workspace. You need administrator
privileges to open it.
1. To open DICOM Worklist Configuration workspace, in Windows Start menu, go to Varian
folder.
2. Click the DICOM Services Configuration icon.
The DICOM Worklist Configuration workspace opens.
6 DICOM Worklist Reference Guide
DICOM Worklist Service Configuration
Configure DICOM Worklist Services
In the DICOM Worklist Service Configuration workspace, you can configure the DICOM
Worklist services and manage the service options.
Figure 2 DICOM Worklist Service Configuration
1. Worklist Service options
2. Trusted Application Entity (AE) options
3. Worklist Service options
Worklist Service
● Service AE Title— Name of the DICOM worklist service
● Listening Port—Port on which the service listens for the incoming associations
● Service Server Name— Client name
● Network Device— Name of the network adapter
● IP Address— IP Address of the DICOM Worklist workstation
● MAC Address— Physical address of DICOM Worklist workstation.
● Service type— Four types of DWL service can be created to connect to the respective
delivery or imaging systems:
● Photon— for photon delivery systems
● Brachy— for brachytherapy delivery systems
● Proton— for proton delivery systems
DICOM Worklist Service Configuration 7
● Modality— for diagnostic imaging systems
Trusted AE
● Use Secure DICOM Network Communication—Select this check box to enable secure
DICOM network communication (TLS v1.2). The Server drop down lists all the available
server certificates. Only the server certificates that are installed at the location Local
Computer\Personal\Certificates are listed in this drop down.
Note: The customer must provide the server certificate and client certificate on
which DICOM worklist application will listen.
● Trusted AE Title—Treatment/ imaging (modality) Machine AE name (TDS/DIS)
● Trusted Port—Port on which the treatment/ imaging (modality) machine listens for the
incoming associations
● Trusted IP address— IP of the treatment/ imaging (modality) machine treatment unit
● Permit Trusted Application Entity Only— If the option is enabled, DICOM Worklist will only
send the appointment to the Trusted AE treatment/ imaging (modality) machine, if not
enabled DICOM Worklist send the appointment to any requested treatment/ imaging
(modality) Machine.
Note: Only the configured trusted AE Client shall receive beam delivery instructions
and the patient photo.
Worklist Service Options
● Automatic Session Update— Updates the fraction session correctly in case of a partial
treatment and provides the user with the option to resume or ignore the fraction session. If
the user does not resume or ignore the fraction session, the fraction session is partially
completed.
Note: Partial Resumption is disabled for Brachy in Plan Scheduling, as partial
treatment is handled by Brachy Consoles.
● Return all attributes in a C-Find Response— Enable this check box to send all supported
DICOM attributes in Unified Procedure Step and Modality Performed Procedure Step
● Return Checked in Patient only— If enabled, only a checked in appointment will be sent,
otherwise appointments are sent regardless of the check in status.
Note: In Data Administration, if the Auto check in all scheduled patients in daily
queue is enabled, the appointment is sent irrespective of the Return Checked in
Patient Only option. Patient appointments which are not checked in will be sent with
status Not Checked In.
● Include Patient Photo in the Input Sequence of UPS— Patient photo instance UID is sent
in the UPS if enabled. The photo instance UID is required to retrieve the Secondary Capture
photo .In case the photo is not available, the user needs to carefully verify the patient identity
before the treatment.
● Archive AE Title—Treatment Service AE Title
● Specific Character Set— Character set used
8 DICOM Worklist Reference Guide
● Default Study Instance UID— This option is specific to Modality service type. Enable this
check box to create and return a default instance UID in C-Find response. See Figure 6
Example of Modality Worklist Service Options on page 10 for details.
Figure 3 Example of Photon Worklist Service Options
Figure 4 Example of Brachy Worklist Service Options
DICOM Worklist Service Configuration 9
Figure 5 Example of Proton Worklist Service Options
Figure 6 Example of Modality Worklist Service Options
10 DICOM Worklist Reference Guide
Add DICOM Worklist Service
1. In DICOM Worklist Configuration, click Add Service.
Note: To add a service, a corresponding license is required. For example, to add a
proton service, you need a proton service license.
2. In Worklist Service Configuration, add the required values and click Save.
Edit DICOM Worklist Service
1. In DICOM Worklist Configuration, select the service from the list view and click Configure
Service.
2. In Worklist Service Configuration, add the required values and click Save.
Add or Modify Trusted AE Service
1. In DICOM Worklist Configuration, select the service from the list view and click Configure
Service.
2. In Worklist Service Configuration, add the required values for Trusted AE.
3. Click Add/Update or Remove.
Your changes are displayed.
4. To save the changes, click Save.
Note: If you close the window without clicking Save, changes are not saved.
Securities
A DICOM Worklist service can be created with the software firewall enabled or disabled.
● If the software firewall is enabled, a firewall rule is created.
● If the software firewall is disabled, no firewall rule is created.
Note: Disabling the software firewall is not recommended, as the system is not protected
and is prone to cybersecurity risks.
Exceptions: If the DICOM Worklist service is created when the firewall is disabled, after the
firewall is enabled again, the DWL service will be stopped as the firewall rule is not set. In this
case, a new DWL service needs to be created.
Preconditions and DICOM Worklist Workflows
Note: To send an appointment to the TDS/DIS, a corresponding license is required.
DICOM Worklist Service Configuration 11
For a patient appointment, DICOM Worklist requires only one resource added to the appointment.
● For a patient appointment with more than one resource available, DICOM Worklist can send
the appointment for both clients with the corresponding UPS. If one client uses the
appointment and updates the status, the other UPS cannot be served.
● If a patient appointment is scheduled on Treatment Unit A (10.00) and Treatment Unit B
(13.00), Treatment Unit B’s appointment will not be displayed until Treatment Unit A’s
appointment is in a completed or canceled state.
● If a patient appointment has any prior linked tasks or appointments, the appointment will not
be displayed until the prior task or appointment is in a completed or canceled state.
DICOM Worklist will send the appointment to the console for the current day (today) only, based
on Treatment Unit ID or Patient ID. DICOM Worklist will launch the Activity Capture once the
activity or appointment is set to completed.
Note: In Data Administration for an Activity (ex. Daily Treatment), possible procedure
code should be added as required and DICOM Procedure RT Treatment with Internal
verification (for treatment) or RT Treatment QA with Internal Verification (for QA)
should be selected as Procedure Item in Associations.
Note: Show Activity Capture dialog on completion of Activity / Unified Procedure
Step / Modality performed procedure step must be enabled in Department Details
Preferences, or Activity Capture dialog box will not open.
Figure 7 Activity Capture tab in Data Administration/Department Details Preferences
12 DICOM Worklist Reference Guide
Workflow for Partial Treatments
● When the treatment plan is partially treated, the patient appointment is set to Partially
Completed – Active.
● In Plan Scheduling, the course will be locked, in other words, plans with the scheduled
fraction session will be locked.
● To resume the treatment, select Resume Partial and Continue. The same partially
completed appointment shall be used to complete the treatment.
● To skip the partial fraction and move to the next fraction, select Ignore Partial and
Continue. The appointment needs to be overridden to be completed.
Some delivery systems deliver the beam with a tolerance MU, i.e. treatment is completed with
less MUs than planned. In this case, Fraction is set to Partial in RT Summary and Plan
Scheduling. The appointment will be set to Completed.
For these systems, in case of partial treatment with more than one plan in the same course:
● If Resume Partial and Continue is selected, additional session (DWL will not send BDI for
the completed session but UPS displayed on console) will be created for the completed
fraction, the workaround is to delete the created session or use one plan in a course.
● If Ignore Partial and Continue is selected, the next session of the completed fraction is
available in the same session of the scheduled fraction of other remaining plans. The
workaround is to edit the session as planned.
Note:
● Plans in multiple courses will use the same appointment. The appointment will be set
to completed once all plans in multiple course are completed for the planned fraction
session.
● Plans in single course will use the same appointment. The appointment will be set to
completed once all plans in the course are completed for the planned fraction
session.
● Appointment is set to partially completed state if any of the plans in a scheduled
fraction session in a single course or multiple course is not treated. Fraction session
can be adjusted as required for the scheduled treatment session for the plans in
same course.
● Appointment will be set to canceled if the appointment is opened on the TDS/DIS
and closed without any actions performed.
DICOM Worklist Service Configuration 13
Appendix: References
Abbreviations
AE Application Entry
BDI Beam Delivery Information
DIS Diagnostic Imaging System
DWL Dicom Worklist
TDS Treatment Delivery System
TPMS Treatment Planning System
UID Unique ID
UPS Unified Procedure Step
References
Connectivity is based on the DICOM and IHERO standards (Treatment Delivery Workflow), the
reference standards are as follows:
● [Link]
● [Link]
Varian DICOM conformance Statement:
[Link]
14 DICOM Worklist Reference Guide