Google Summer of Code 2026: Bringing PACS to InVesalius
A 3-month Google Summer of Code journey implementing PACS and DICOM integration into the open-source medical software InVesalius.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- Developer completed a 3-month GSoC project integrating PACS into InVesalius medical software.
- Utilized pynetdicom and pydicom libraries for network-based image search and retrieval.
- Resolved technical challenges including C-GET fallback handling and UI freeze prevention.
- Structured DICOM images hierarchically from Patient down to individual Image levels.
Over the past three months, Muneeb Ahmad contributed to InVesalius as a Google Summer of Code (GSoC) contributor, sharing insights from a productive summer focused on enhancing open-source medical imaging technology.
InVesalius is a well-established open-source medical imaging software developed in Brazil that generates 3D physical models from 2D CT or MRI scans via 3D printing, assisting healthcare professionals in various medical applications.
Previously, the software lacked native remote connection support for hospital servers (PACS), forcing medical staff to rely on external tools for data exchange and creating unnecessary workflow overhead.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
To solve this, he utilized libraries such as pynetdicom and pydicom to build methods enabling automated image search and retrieval from hospital PACS servers over the network without manual effort.
The system workflow follows a structured pipeline:
- Connectivity: Establishing server connection
- Search: Querying for image records
- Retrieval: Downloading requested image data
- Local Storage: Storing files locally
Integrating PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System) and DICOM standards into open-source medical imaging tools represents a major milestone. It allows smaller healthcare institutions to leverage advanced visualization capabilities without prohibitive proprietary software costs, ultimately streamlining clinical workflows.
Technical challenges encountered during development included handling C-MOVE failures by implementing C-GET as a fallback orchestrator, managing cancellation flows, and preventing user interface freezes during heavy data downloads by executing synchronous functions asynchronously via thread executors.
Dealing with progress dialog updates across different servers like Orthanc and dcm4chee required practical adaptations, such as streamlining progress tracking without exact image counts when servers transmitted data simultaneously.
"One of the challenges was to use c-get as fallback if c-move was to fail. I had to think of a creative way, so I came up with a less creative simple solution and that was to handle it as an error and also support the user to choose his preffered method."
Muneeb Ahmad
Reflecting on the experience, the project transitioned him from having no prior knowledge of DICOM to successfully implementing full PACS integration, handling complex edge cases, and working alongside his mentor Paulo.
Source: Dev.to
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