Informatics in radiology: DICOM-RT and its utilization in radiation therapy.

The Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) standard is now widely implemented in radiology as the standard for diagnostic imaging. It has also been extended for use in various sub-specialties. One of the first extensions was applied to radiation therapy and is known as DICOM-RT. In addition to the protocol used in the DICOM standard, seven DICOM-RT objects--namely, RT Image, RT Structure Set, RT Plan, RT Dose, RT Beams Treatment Record, RT Brachy Treatment Record, and RT Treatment Summary Record--have been created, each with a well-defined data model. The data models set the standard for integration of radiation therapy information for an electronic patient record and would facilitate the interoperability of different radiation therapy systems, thus making possible the sharing of information from different systems.