Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine
application/dicom
Magic Bytes
Offset: 128
44 49 43 4D
Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) is an international standard for medical imaging and related information, maintained by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA). It is the primary format for storing and transmitting medical data from imaging modalities, including CT scans, MRIs, and ultrasounds, across healthcare networks and archival systems. Files typically contain sensitive patient metadata, necessitating strict adherence to privacy regulations and data encryption standards during handling.
Validation Code
How to validate .dcm files in Python
Python
def is_dcm(file_path: str) -> bool:
"""
Check if file is a valid DCM by magic bytes.
Signature offset: 128 bytes
"""
signature = bytes([0x44, 0x49, 0x43, 0x4D])
with open(file_path, "rb") as f:
f.seek(128)
return f.read(4) == signatureHow to validate .dcm files in Node.js
Node.js
function isDCM(buffer: Buffer): boolean {
// Signature offset: 128 bytes
const signature = Buffer.from([0x44, 0x49, 0x43, 0x4D]);
if (buffer.length < 132) return false;
return buffer.subarray(128, 132).equals(signature);
}
Go
func IsDCM(data []byte) bool {
// Signature offset: 128 bytes
signature := []byte{0x44, 0x49, 0x43, 0x4D}
if len(data) < 132 {
return false
}
return bytes.Equal(data[128:132], signature)
}API Endpoint
GET
/api/v1/dcm
curl https://filesignature.org/api/v1/dcm