8. Save

This chapter describes saving images and data that are loaded, modified, or created in FireVoxel. Most of these actions are accomplished using commands grouped under the File tab of the main menu.

8.1. Save FireVoxel Document

Opens Save As dialog to save the active document as a FireVoxel document (.fvx). The document is saved with its full contents, including image layers, ROI layers, color maps, vector ROIs, polylines, and MagTrace contours. The default file name is the name of the document window. If the document already exists in the selected directory, the Save command asks the user to confirm overwriting it.

De-identification: Upon every Save, the document is checked for containing identifying information (Protected Health Information, PHI) in the fields listed in FireVoxelPHIProfile.txt (for details, see De-identification).

If the document does not contain PHI fields, Save FireVoxel document will open Save As dialog directly.

If the document contains PHI fields, a dialog (Protected Health Info is present) with the list of identifying fields will be shown with options to:
1) De-identify and Save – Remove PHI fields before saving the document,
2) Save – Save while keeping these fields unchanged, or
3) Cancel – Cancel saving.

If the document is saved with PHI fields, the PHI dialog will be shown every time the user saves the document.

8.2. Save Active Layer as DICOM

Opens file save dialog to export the current layer as DICOM files (.dcm – DICOM multiple files by default, or .dci, single file). The files are saved in the user-selected directory with names formed from the user-specified name with added suffixes _tXXXX_nXXXXXN (t for dynamic index and n for slice). Before files are saved, a dialog is shown prompting user to confirm generating new UIDs (Yes by default).

The same functionality can also be accessed via the Layer Control panel, using Save DICOM.

8.3. Save Active Layer as DICOM folders

Opens browse-for-folder dialog to select the target directory. Once the user selects the directory, this Save command creates a series of nested folders according to the Dicom Tree structure of the image in the active layer (PATIENT, STUDY, SERIES). The user will be prompted to confirm or decline including the patient’s name in the name of PATIENT directory.

If the patient confirms using the patient’s name, the PATIENT directory is labeled with patient’s information: PATIENT_LastName_FirstName_gender_DOB. The STUDY directory is labeled with the study description (DICOM field 0008,1030) and study date: STUDY_StudyDescription_mm_dd_yy. The SERIES is labeled with the series description (0008,103E) and series number: SERIES_[NN]_SeriesDescription. Each image is named image_00.dcm, image_01.dcm, etc.

If the patient declines using the patient’s name, the PATIENT directory is labeled PATIENT_1. ISSUE - no PATIENT_2. The STUDY, SERIES and images are labeled as described above.

8.4. Save Active Layer as Image

Opens file-save dialog to save the active layer in NIfTI format (*.nii). Saving images in MIDAS (*.im) and ANALYZE (*.img) is also available for backward compatibility. However, these older formats are less preferable, in particular, due to their inability to unambiguously store the image orientation, and the user is advised to use NIfTI whenever possible. Saving the active layer as image is also available via Layer Control > Save Image.