simple-dicom-mcp

Repo credit: https://github.com/ChristianHinge/dicom-mcp

Run it

• Minimal config (configuration.yaml):

nodes:
  orthanc:
    host: "localhost"
    port: 4242
    ae_title: "ORTHANC"
    description: "Default Local Orthanc DICOM server"
    aliases: ["local", "dev-orthanc"]

  radiant:
    host: "localhost"
    port: 11112
    ae_title: "RADIANT"
    description: "Radiant Viewer Dicom Node"
    aliases: ["viewer"]

current_node: "orthanc"

calling_aets:
  default:
    ae_title: "MCPSCU"
    description: "Default calling AE"

calling_aet: "default"
query_root: "study"
allow_remote_hosts: false

network:
  acse_timeout: 10
  dimse_timeout: 30
  network_timeout: 30
  assoc_timeout: 10
  max_pdu: 16384
  retry:
    max_attempts: 2
    backoff_seconds: 1.0
    backoff_multiplier: 2.0
    backoff_max_seconds: 5.0

• Start server (dev):

uv run --with-editable '.' -m dicom_mcp configuration.yaml

• If uv caches old code: add --no-cache or --reinstall-package simple-dicom-mcp.

Claude Desktop (working JSON)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "DicomMCP": {
      "command": "C:\\Windows\\System32\\wsl.exe",
      "args": [
        "--distribution",
        "Ubuntu",
        "--",
        "bash",
        "-lc",
        "cd '/mnt/c/Users/paulo/Python Projects/simple-dicom-mcp' && uv run --with-editable '.' python -m dicom_mcp '/mnt/c/Users/paulo/Python Projects/simple-dicom-mcp/configuration.yaml'"
      ]
    }
  },
  "globalShortcut": "",
  "preferences": {
    "menuBarEnabled": false
  }
}

WSL tips

• Enable mirrored networking so localhost works for both Windows and WSL.
• Use --with-editable '.' so your code changes are seen live.

Tools you can call

• Connection: list_dicom_nodes, switch_dicom_node, verify_connection
• Registry: get_manifest
• Query: query_patients, query_studies, query_series, query_instances, get_attribute_presets

Query tools return structured status metadata:

{
  "success": true,
  "results": [],
  "dicom_statuses": [],
  "warnings": [],
  "error": null
}

Examples

• Find studies in a date range:

query_studies(study_date="20230101-20231231")

• Filter studies by patient attributes:

query_studies(patient_id="12345678", patient_sex="O", patient_birth_date="19700101")

Troubleshooting

• If uv doesn’t reflect code changes, add --no-cache or --reinstall-package simple-dicom-mcp.
• On WSL/Windows, enable mirrored networking so localhost works across Windows and WSL.

License & credit

• MIT license (see LICENSE)
• Based on: https://github.com/ChristianHinge/dicom-mcp

The simple-dicom-mcp server enables AI assistants to query and read data on DICOM servers (PACS, VNA, etc.).

<div align="center">

🤝 Contributing guide • 🐞 Report bug • 🛟 Support • 🔐 Security

</div>

✨ Core Capabilities

simple-dicom-mcp provides tools to:

• 🔍 Query Metadata: Search for patients, studies, series, and instances using various criteria.
• ⚙️ Utilities: Manage connections and understand query options.

🚀 Quick Start

📥 Installation

Install using uv:

uv tool install simple-dicom-mcp

Or by cloning the repository:

# Clone and set up development environment
git clone https://github.com/ThalesMMS/simple-dicom-mcp
cd simple-dicom-mcp

# Create and activate virtual environment
uv venv
source .venv/bin/activate

# Install with dev dependencies
uv pip install -e ".[dev]"

⚙️ Configuration

simple-dicom-mcp requires a YAML configuration file (config.yaml or similar) defining DICOM nodes and calling AE titles. Adapt the configuration or keep as is for compatibility with the sample ORTHANC Server.

nodes:
  main:
    host: "localhost"
    port: 4242 
    ae_title: "ORTHANC"
    description: "Local Orthanc DICOM server"
    aliases: ["local", "dev-orthanc"]

current_node: "main"

calling_aets:
  default:
    ae_title: "MCPSCU"
    description: "Default calling AE"

calling_aet: "default"
query_root: "study"
allow_remote_hosts: false

network:
  acse_timeout: 10
  dimse_timeout: 30
  network_timeout: 30
  assoc_timeout: 10
  max_pdu: 16384
  retry:
    max_attempts: 2
    backoff_seconds: 1.0
    backoff_multiplier: 2.0
    backoff_max_seconds: 5.0

Notes:

• calling_aet can be a name, alias, or AE title defined in calling_aets.
• query_root accepts study or patient.
• allow_remote_hosts defaults to false and blocks non-loopback DICOM hosts unless you explicitly opt in.

[!WARNING] Simple DICOM-MCP is not meant for clinical use, and should not be connected with live hospital databases or databases with patient-sensitive data. Doing so could lead to both loss of patient data, and leakage of patient data onto the internet. If you intentionally need a remote PACS or VNA, set allow_remote_hosts: true only after reviewing the risk and using a private, trusted environment.

(Optional) Sample ORTHANC server

If you don't have a DICOM server available, you can run a local ORTHANC server using Docker:

Clone the repository and install test dependencies:

uv pip install -e ".[dev]"

Start Orthanc and run tests:

cd tests
docker compose up -d
cd ..
uv run pytest -m integration

UI at http://localhost:8042

🔌 MCP Integration

Add to your client configuration (e.g. claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "dicom": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": ["tool","simple-dicom-mcp", "/path/to/your_config.yaml"]
    }
  }
}

For development:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "simple-dicom-mcp": {
            "command": "uv",
            "args": [
                "--directory",
                "path/to/cloned/simple-dicom-mcp",
                "run",
                "simple-dicom-mcp",
                "/path/to/your_config.yaml"
            ]
        }
    }
}

🛠️ Tools Overview

simple-dicom-mcp provides five categories of tools for interaction with DICOM servers and DICOM data.

🔍 Query Metadata

• query_patients: Search for patients based on criteria like ID or birth date.
• query_studies: Find studies using patient ID, date, modality, description, accession number, or Study UID.
• query_series: Locate series within a specific study using modality, series number/description, or Series UID.
• query_instances: Find individual instances (images/objects) within a series using instance number or SOP Instance UID

⚙️ Utilities

• list_dicom_nodes: Show the currently active DICOM node, calling AE title, and list all configured nodes.
• switch_dicom_node: Change the active DICOM node for subsequent operations.
• verify_connection: Test the DICOM network connection to the currently active node using C-ECHO.
• get_attribute_presets: List the available attribute presets (none, custom) for metadata query results.<p>
• get_manifest: Return the MCP tool contract manifest (required/optional tool versions).

Example interaction

The tools can be chained together to answer complex questions:

🤝 Community health

• Read CONTRIBUTING.md before opening a pull request.
• Use the issue forms for bugs and focused feature ideas.
• Follow SECURITY.md for vulnerability reporting.
• Use SUPPORT.md for setup/help guidance.
• Do not post PHI, real DICOM studies, or live PACS credentials in issues or PRs.

📈 Contributing

Running Tests

Unit tests run without Orthanc; integration tests require a running Orthanc DICOM server. You can use Docker:

# Navigate to the directory containing docker-compose.yml (e.g., tests/)
cd tests
docker compose up -d

Run unit tests using uv:

# From the project root directory
uv run pytest -m "not integration"

Run integration tests using uv:

# From the project root directory
uv run pytest -m integration

Stop the Orthanc container:

cd tests
docker compose down

Debugging

Use the MCP Inspector for debugging the server communication:

npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector uv run simple-dicom-mcp /path/to/your_config.yaml --transport stdio

Logging

Set LOG_LEVEL to control verbosity (e.g., DEBUG, INFO, WARNING):

LOG_LEVEL=DEBUG uv run simple-dicom-mcp /path/to/your_config.yaml --transport stdio

Linting, formatting, type checking

uv run ruff check .
uv run ruff format .
uv run pyright

Pre-commit

uv run pre-commit install
uv run pre-commit run --all-files

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Built using pynetdicom