How to Share DICOM Studies Securely Without CDs or Consumer File-Sharing Platforms

A patient arrives for a specialist consultation carrying a medical-imaging CD. The clinic’s Mac has no optical drive. Another computer reads the disc, but its bundled viewer will not open. A staff member copies the files, finds another viewer and starts an import. The appointment begins late.

Portable media can be damaged, misplaced or incomplete, and receiving organisations may encounter access, import and viewing problems. IHE’s Portable Data for Imaging profile makes interchange media more reliable, but even a standards-based CD depends on physical delivery, compatible hardware and a successful import.^[2][3]

The problem is not that a CD can never work. It is that the disc often becomes the least connected element in an otherwise digital referral pathway.

A DICOM study is not simply one image file. The DICOM information model represents related patient, study, series and instance information. A CT or MR examination may contain several series and hundreds or thousands of instances, together with metadata that helps a viewer organise the examination.^[1]

Email, ZIP archives and general file-sharing services can transport those files. They are not automatically unlawful or insecure; suitability depends on configuration, access controls and organisational policy. Their limitation is usually workflow.

The recipient may still need to download a large archive, extract it, locate compatible viewing software, import the study, verify that every series is present and later remove local copies. Medical-image exchange literature has described the operational burden of CD-based and disconnected exchange methods.^[4][5]

A transfer is complete when the files arrive. A clinical workflow is complete when the intended recipient can open and review the examination with the appropriate tools.

Falcon Link is designed for direct medical-file and DICOM-study sharing. It works in a web browser and is integrated with Falcon MD and Falcon Mx. The browser workflow is intentionally short: add files or select a complete folder, choose a recipient by email or Falcon Link address, enter the sender details and message, and send.^[7][8]

Falcon Link is the sharing layer. It is not a PACS gateway or a Falcon Cloud deployment. When a study is held in another PACS, the sender first makes it available through the organisation’s normal retrieval or export process. The examination can then be sent from a Falcon viewer or uploaded as a complete DICOM folder through Falcon Link.^[7][8]

This also makes Falcon Link practical for studies that arrive on removable media. Its browser workflow allows the sender to select a complete folder or medical-imaging CD rather than attempting to identify and upload individual DICOM files. Falcon’s guidance specifically recommends selecting the full CD as one source so that the examination is included correctly.^[9]

The recipient is notified and can access the transfer through a browser verification flow. Falcon MD or Falcon Mx users can open the study within their Falcon workflow. Study-specific messaging keeps questions and replies connected to the transfer, while notifications provide visibility when studies and messages arrive.^[8][9]

Falcon Link documents HTTPS/TLS transport, controlled access, transfer activity and temporary retention. Files expire automatically after seven days unless deleted earlier. These controls do not replace organisational governance. NIST treats cybersecurity as a broader process involving identity, data protection, monitoring, response and recovery.^{[6][8][9][10]}

Late in the afternoon, a regional imaging centre performs CT angiography for a patient who may need transfer to a vascular unit. The vascular surgeon is working at another hospital and needs to assess the anatomy before advising the referring clinician.

Previously, staff exported the examination, compressed it and placed several gigabytes on a temporary download service. The surgeon waited for the archive, extracted it and imported the files into a viewer. The imaging centre received calls asking whether the upload had finished and whether all series were included.

With Falcon Link, the centre selects the complete examination and sends it to the surgeon’s email or Falcon Link address. The surgeon receives a notification and opens the study in Falcon MD on a Mac.

Falcon MD provides DICOM study review, multiplanar reconstruction, MIP and MinIP, measurements, series synchronisation and study-comparison tools. Falcon MD is FDA-cleared for supported Mac, iPhone and iPad platforms, subject to the applicable indications for use and product labelling.^[11][12]

The workflow removes the disc, ZIP extraction and several manual hand-offs. It does not guarantee a particular clinical outcome, but it gives both clinicians a more direct route to the same examination and supports a faster decision about the patient’s next step.

An equine veterinarian acquires radiographs at a remote stable and needs to send the examination to a referral surgeon. The veterinarian selects the complete DICOM folder in Falcon Link, enters the surgeon’s address and adds the referral message.

The surgeon first opens the transfer on an iPad using Falcon Mx, then reviews it again on a Mac when back in the consultation area.

Falcon Mx is available for Mac, iPhone and iPad. It includes DICOM viewing, measurements, annotations, 2D and 3D tools, study organisation and Falcon Link sharing. Falcon Mx is not FDA-cleared and is not intended for diagnostic use. Its documented audiences include healthcare professionals, students, researchers and veterinary users.^[13][14]

Falcon Link works seamlessly with both Falcon MD and Falcon Mx, allowing the recipient to open the transfer in the viewing environment appropriate to the review.^{[8][11][12][13][14]}

Falcon Cloud is a separate cloud PACS for ongoing storage and access across supported Apple devices. An organisation may use Falcon Cloud alongside Falcon Link, but Cloud is not the sharing engine in this workflow.

Falcon Link provides direct, temporary delivery to a named recipient. Falcon Cloud addresses persistent cloud-based study availability, storage and continuity across locations and devices.^[8][15]

Keeping those roles clear makes the Falcon ecosystem easier to understand. Falcon Link replaces the disconnected delivery step. Falcon Cloud serves a broader archive and remote-access requirement.

The same examination may need to reach a reporting clinician, referring physician, surgeon, multidisciplinary team or remote specialist. Every manual conversion, exporting, compressing, uploading, emailing, downloading and importing, creates another place for delay or confusion.

Falcon Link shortens that chain:

• Select or upload -> send -> notify -> open -> discuss -> complete.

The value is not merely that data moves online. The transfer has a defined recipient, a clear expiry, activity visibility, contextual messaging and a direct route into Falcon MD or Falcon Mx.^[8][9][10]

For organisations looking to replace medical-imaging CDs or send DICOM images online, that is the important distinction: Falcon Link connects the transfer to the people, communication and viewing tools around the examination.

Before replacing CDs, teams should test the complete sharing path rather than only the upload mechanism:

1. 01

   Can staff select the complete study or folder rather than handling individual DICOM files?

2. 02

   Is the transfer directed to a defined recipient?

3. 03

   Can the examination open directly in the chosen DICOM viewer?

4. 04

   Is that viewer appropriate for the intended clinical or non-clinical use?

5. 05

   Are notifications and study-specific communications included?

6. 06

   How long are transferred files retained?

7. 07

   Can the sender delete a transfer before its automatic expiry?

8. 08

   Can users review transfer activity?

9. 09

   How are large examinations and interrupted transfers handled?

10. 10

    Does the recipient need to extract a ZIP archive?

11. 11

    Has the process been tested with the organisation’s actual PACS, export method, network and devices?

To share DICOM studies securely, organisations need more than a substitute delivery mechanism. They need a continuous, tested path from the imaging source to the clinician reviewing the examination.

Falcon Link is the centre of that path: a straightforward browser- and viewer-integrated service for sending studies to a specific recipient, notifying them, keeping communication connected to the transfer and removing temporary files after a defined period.

When longer-term access is needed, Falcon Cloud can sit alongside that sharing workflow as the persistent cloud PACS. The practical distinction is simple: Falcon Link is for direct delivery; Falcon Cloud is for ongoing study availability.^[8][15]

These questions come up frequently when teams move away from disc-based image exchange: