dicom-hl7-mcp-server

DICOM/HL7/FHIR Interoperability MCP Server

<!-- mcp-name: io.github.NyxToolsDev/dicom-hl7-mcp-server -->


The only MCP server that bridges DICOM, HL7v2, and FHIR in one package — with optional PACS connectivity.

Built by a healthcare IT engineer with 16 years of PACS, RIS, and integration experience. This isn't a wrapper around a FHIR API or a DICOM tag dictionary — it's the interoperability knowledge that takes years on the job to build, plus the ability to connect to real PACS systems.

What Makes This Different

| Capability | This Server | DICOM-only servers | FHIR-only servers | |-----------|:-----------:|:------------------:|:-----------------:| | DICOM tag lookup + vendor quirks | Yes | Yes | No | | HL7v2 message parsing | Yes | No | No | | FHIR R4 resource mapping | Yes | No | Yes | | DICOM ↔ HL7v2 mapping | Yes | No | No | | HL7v2 → FHIR conversion | Yes | No | No | | Mirth Connect channel generation | Yes | No | No | | PACS connectivity (C-FIND/C-MOVE) | Yes | Some | No | | DICOMweb (QIDO-RS/WADO-RS) | Yes | No | No | | Query PACS + auto-map to HL7/FHIR | Yes | No | No | | Vendor private tag decoding (GE, Siemens, Philips) | Yes | Some | No | | Integration pattern knowledge (IHE SWF, ADT flows) | Yes | No | No |

Tools

Reference Tools (Free)

| Tool | What It Does | |------|-------------| | lookup_dicom_tag | Look up any DICOM tag by number or keyword | | explain_dicom_tag | Detailed tag explanation with vendor quirks and gotchas | | parse_hl7_message | Parse HL7 v2.x messages into human-readable format | | explain_hl7_segment | Explain segment fields, data types, and usage | | lookup_hl7_table | Look up HL7 table values (Administrative Sex, Patient Class, etc.) |

Mapping & Generation Tools (Premium)

| Tool | What It Does | |------|-------------| | map_dicom_to_hl7 | Map DICOM tags to HL7 v2 fields with conversion notes | | map_hl7_to_fhir | Map HL7 v2 fields to FHIR R4 resources | | generate_mirth_channel | Generate Mirth Connect channel configurations | | validate_hl7_message | Validate HL7 messages against the standard | | explain_integration_pattern | Explain healthcare integration patterns with flow diagrams | | decode_private_tags | Decode vendor private DICOM tags (GE, Siemens, Philips, etc.) | | generate_sample_message | Generate realistic sample HL7 messages for testing |

PACS Connectivity Tools (Premium)

| Tool | What It Does | |------|-------------| | pacs_echo | Verify PACS connectivity (C-ECHO or DICOMweb ping) | | pacs_query | Search for studies/series by patient, date, modality, accession | | pacs_get_metadata | Retrieve detailed study/series metadata from PACS | | pacs_retrieve | C-MOVE images to a destination AE title | | pacs_study_summary | Query a study + auto-map through DICOM→HL7→FHIR with generated ORM |

Installation

Reference tools only (no PACS connectivity):

pip install dicom-hl7-mcp

With PACS connectivity (adds pynetdicom + httpx):

pip install dicom-hl7-mcp[pacs]

Configuration

Basic (Reference Tools Only)

Add to your Claude Desktop config:

macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "dicom-hl7-assistant": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["dicom-hl7-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

With Premium License

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "dicom-hl7-assistant": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["dicom-hl7-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "DICOM_HL7_LICENSE_KEY": "your-license-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

With PACS Connectivity (Traditional DICOM)

Connect to a PACS using C-FIND/C-MOVE/C-ECHO:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "dicom-hl7-assistant": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["--with", "dicom-hl7-mcp[pacs]", "dicom-hl7-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "DICOM_HL7_LICENSE_KEY": "your-license-key-here",
        "DICOM_HL7_PACS_AE_TITLE": "YOUR_PACS",
        "DICOM_HL7_PACS_HOST": "pacs.hospital.org",
        "DICOM_HL7_PACS_PORT": "4242",
        "DICOM_HL7_LOCAL_AE_TITLE": "CLAUDE_MCP"
      }
    }
  }
}

With PACS Connectivity (DICOMweb)

Connect to a DICOMweb-capable PACS (QIDO-RS/WADO-RS):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "dicom-hl7-assistant": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["--with", "dicom-hl7-mcp[pacs]", "dicom-hl7-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "DICOM_HL7_LICENSE_KEY": "your-license-key-here",
        "DICOM_HL7_DICOMWEB_URL": "https://pacs.hospital.org/dicom-web",
        "DICOM_HL7_DICOMWEB_AUTH": "bearer",
        "DICOM_HL7_DICOMWEB_TOKEN": "your-auth-token"
      }
    }
  }
}

Environment Variables

| Variable | Required | Default | Description | |----------|----------|---------|-------------| | DICOM_HL7_LICENSE_KEY | For premium | — | Premium license key | | DICOM_HL7_LOG_LEVEL | No | INFO | Logging level | | Traditional DICOM | | | | | DICOM_HL7_PACS_AE_TITLE | For DIMSE | — | Remote PACS AE title | | DICOM_HL7_PACS_HOST | For DIMSE | — | Remote PACS hostname/IP | | DICOM_HL7_PACS_PORT | For DIMSE | — | Remote PACS port | | DICOM_HL7_LOCAL_AE_TITLE | No | DICOM_HL7_MCP | This server's AE title | | DICOMweb | | | | | DICOM_HL7_DICOMWEB_URL | For DICOMweb | — | DICOMweb base URL | | DICOM_HL7_DICOMWEB_AUTH | No | none | Auth type: none, bearer, basic | | DICOM_HL7_DICOMWEB_TOKEN | For bearer | — | Bearer token | | DICOM_HL7_DICOMWEB_USERNAME | For basic | — | Basic auth username | | DICOM_HL7_DICOMWEB_PASSWORD | For basic | — | Basic auth password | | Safety | | | | | DICOM_HL7_PACS_PROTOCOL | No | auto | Protocol: auto, dimse, dicomweb | | DICOM_HL7_PACS_ALLOW_RETRIEVE | No | false | Enable C-MOVE (true to enable) | | DICOM_HL7_PHI_REDACT | No | false | Redact patient name/ID in output |

PHI Safety

When connected to a real PACS, query results contain Protected Health Information (PHI).

• Log redaction: PHI fields are automatically stripped from all log output
• Result warnings: Every PACS query result includes a PHI warning banner
• Optional redaction: Set DICOM_HL7_PHI_REDACT=true to replace patient name/ID with [REDACTED] in tool output
• No disk caching: PACS query results are never written to disk
• C-MOVE is disabled by default: Must explicitly set DICOM_HL7_PACS_ALLOW_RETRIEVE=true

Important: Do not use PACS connectivity with cloud-hosted LLMs unless your organization's policies permit sending PHI to that LLM provider. For on-premises deployments or local LLM setups, this is not a concern.

Real-World Examples

"What is DICOM tag (0008,0050)?"

AccessionNumber — SH — RIS-generated number that identifies the order. THE key field for matching RIS orders to PACS studies.

Parse an HL7 message

"Parse this HL7 message:" `` MSH|^~\&|RIS|RAD|EMR|HOSP|20240315140000||ORU^R01|MSG003|P|2.5.1 PID|1||MRN12345^^^HOSP^MR||DOE^JOHN||19650315|M OBR|1|ORD001|ACC001|CTABD^CT Abdomen^L|||20240315130000 OBX|1|FT|&GDT^Report||FINDINGS: Normal CT.||||||F ``

Returns each segment parsed with field names, values, table lookups, and contextual explanations.

Query PACS + Auto-Map to HL7/FHIR (Premium)

"Look up accession number ACC12345 in PACS and show me the HL7/FHIR mapping"

Returns a complete interoperability summary:

1. Study metadata from PACS (patient, date, modality, description)
2. DICOM→HL7 field mapping for every key field
3. HL7→FHIR R4 resource mapping
4. A pre-filled HL7 ORM^O01 message skeleton
5. Integration pattern context (IHE SWF workflow)

Map DICOM → HL7 (Premium)

"What HL7 field does DICOM Accession Number map to?"

Returns: OBR-3 / ORC-3 (Filler Order Number) with data type conversion notes (SH → EI) and mapping pitfalls.

Generate a Mirth Channel (Premium)

"Generate a Mirth channel for receiving ADT messages and writing to a FHIR server"

Returns: Complete channel config with MLLP source, FHIR HTTP destination, transformer steps, event filtering, and implementation notes.

Knowledge Base

Standards Coverage

• DICOM: ~200 most common tags, SOP Classes, Transfer Syntaxes, private tag ranges for 7 vendors
• HL7 v2.x: 15 segments, 20+ tables, message types (ADT, ORM, ORU, MDM, SIU, DFT, BAR), versions 2.3-2.9
• FHIR R4: Mappings for Patient, Encounter, ServiceRequest, DiagnosticReport, Observation, AllergyIntolerance, Condition, RelatedPerson, Coverage
• Integration Patterns: ADT Feed, Order-to-Result, Radiology Workflow (IHE SWF), Lab Interface, Report Distribution, Patient Merge, Charge Posting

Where the Knowledge Comes From

The tags, segments, and mappings are from published standards (DICOM PS3.6, HL7 v2.5.1, FHIR R4, HL7 v2-to-FHIR IG). The vendor quirks, integration tips, and "watch out for this" notes come from 16 years of building PACS/RIS/HIS interfaces in production healthcare environments.

Premium License

Free tier gives you DICOM tag lookup, HL7 parsing, and segment explanation — the tools you use every day.

Premium unlocks cross-standard mapping, Mirth generation, validation, PACS connectivity, and the deep integration knowledge that takes years to build.

Get your license: nyxtools.gumroad.com

FAQ

Do I need a license for the free tools? No. Install and use the 5 free tools immediately. No account, no sign-up.

Do I need PACS connectivity? No. The reference and mapping tools work without any PACS connection. PACS connectivity is optional — install with pip install dicom-hl7-mcp[pacs] only if you want to query real PACS systems.

What HL7 versions are supported? v2.3 through v2.9, with focus on v2.5.1 (the most widely deployed in US healthcare).

Is this HIPAA compliant? The reference tools process standards metadata, not patient data. PACS connectivity tools access real patient data — PHI safety measures are built in (log redaction, optional output redaction, C-MOVE disabled by default), but you are responsible for ensuring use complies with your organization's policies.

What PACS systems are supported? Any PACS that supports DICOM C-FIND/C-ECHO (virtually all of them) or DICOMweb (QIDO-RS/WADO-RS). Tested with Orthanc, RamSoft, and DCM4CHEE.

Development

git clone https://github.com/NyxToolsDev/dicom-hl7-mcp-server.git
cd dicom-hl7-mcp-server
pip install -e ".[dev]"
pytest

License

MIT License. See LICENSE.

---

Built by NyxTools