Abstract: A WallPlug (interface) connects DICOM devices located at a hospital to external storage and retrieval systems. The external storage and retrieval systems can be part of the National Digital Mammography Archive. The WallPlug allows secure communications within the hospital setting, and allows only selected data to be transferred between the hospital devices and the archive. The WallPlug enables cross-enterprise distribution of medical content with proper authentication and logging of transfers. The WallPlug includes two portals connected together by a private secure network. The use of two separate devices greatly enhances the security, redundancy, and manageability of the combined device.

Abstract: Data transferred between devices 12/16 is formatted in accordance with a multi-layered data structure. One layer 66 of the multi-layered data structure includes a socket protocol. A layer 68 within the layer 66 includes a header. A payload layer 72 is included within the layer 68. The header includes information indicative of the type of data in the payload layer 72 and enables multiple data types to be transferred in their original format without conversion. This multi-layered data structure may provide DICOM interactions with medical devices within a hospital secure network 14 to be coupled with external communications mechanisms 16 that can acquire or store NDMA content while maintaining the integrity of the hospital/clinic network security and incorporating strong firewall-like protections. The layer 66 of the multi-layered data structure may further include routing information used to route data received at a destination port 5007 to another port 5005.