Set up

For this tutorial, we'll be using data from subject #39540. It is possible that you have already obtained data for this subject via DICOm transfer before; if so, it may lead to confusion in the DICOM transfer step of this tutorial.

To prevent confusion, let's first clear out any files from previous DICOM transfers of this subject.

(1) First, determine your Query/Retrieve directory. Run the following command:

You should get something that looks like this:

indicating that your Query/Retrieve directory is, e.g., /export/home/myHomeDir/DICOM.

If you get an error message that the .MEDxdefaults file doesn't exist, or if you get only the Unix prompt back, you need to set up your .MEDxdefaults file. The easiest way to do this is to copy it from somebody else's home directory (for whom DICOM is working) into your own home directory.

(2) Go into the Query/Retrieve directory, and list the contents. E.g.,

(3) If you see a subdirectory named CSL395_20050809, it is a directory containing files from previous DICOM transfers of this subject. To prevent confusion, delete this directory, e.g.:

Incidentally, if you use MEDx's DICOM transfer to obtain multiple fMRI runs from the same subject, you might notice that when you try to obtain the 2nd run you'll get not only the 2nd run but also the 1st run. And when you try to obtain the 3rd run, you'll also get the first two runs; etc. If you find this annoying, a trick you can do is to remove the subject's directory in between retrievals, like we did in step 3 above.

See Section 8.3 of Chapter 8 of the MEDx User's Guide for further information on DICOM defaults in MEDx.