Orthanc Server Orthanc API
Official vendor OpenAPI document · agent-readyHealthcareClinical Datanone299 EndpointsREST
For Agents
Query, store, and route DICOM medical imaging data through an Orthanc server. Agents can list studies, fetch instances, anonymise tags, and trigger DICOM transfers between modalities and peers.
Use for: Retrieve a DICOM study by patient ID, Anonymise a DICOM instance before sharing it externally, List all studies stored on the Orthanc server, Send a study to a remote DICOM modality
Not supported: Does not handle electronic health records, appointment scheduling, or billing - use for DICOM imaging storage, retrieval, and routing only.
The Orthanc API exposes the full REST interface of the Orthanc DICOM server, letting clients ingest, retrieve, and orchestrate medical imaging data across studies, series, instances, and patients. It supports DICOM-Web (QIDO-RS, WADO-RS, STOW-RS), DICOMweb proxies, modality work-list queries, and asynchronous DICOM transfers, plus Lua and Python scripting hooks. With 299 endpoints, the API covers everything from raw instance retrieval to peer routing, anonymisation, and modification of imaging tags.
Install Jentic One Beta
Connect the Orthanc API to your agent
Jentic One is a self-hosted execution layer for AI agents. It lets your agent call the Orthanc API, or any other public or private API you need. You set the rules, the agent never sees your credentials, and every call is logged.
Two steps, two machines. Install the instance in a safe environment, then register your agent from wherever it runs.
1
Step 1: Jentic One Host machine
# On the machine that will host your Jentic One instance:
curl -fsSL "https://jentic.com/install.sh?src=apis&api=%2Fapis%2Forthanc-server.com%2Forthanc-server" | sh2
Step 2: Agent machine
# On the machine where your agent runs (keep this separate from the instance):
curl -fsSL "https://jentic.com/install.sh?src=apis&api=%2Fapis%2Forthanc-server.com%2Forthanc-server" | sh
jentic register # connects your agent to your Jentic One instanceJentic One is in public beta. The setup above keeps your agent separate from the instance, which is what you want before using real credentials: an agent running as the same OS user as Jentic One can read its stored keys directly. Just evaluating? A single local install is fine to start. See the secure deployment guide for the tiers.
Capabilities
What an agent can do with Orthanc API.
Retrieve DICOM instances, series, and studies by Orthanc identifier or DICOM UID
Anonymise or modify DICOM tags on a single instance or whole study before export
Query and retrieve images from remote modalities using DICOM C-FIND and C-MOVE
Send studies to peers, modalities, or DICOM-Web servers asynchronously with job tracking
Stream changes from the Orthanc event log to drive downstream imaging pipelines
Run server-side Lua and Python scripts to react to incoming DICOM events
Use Cases
Patterns agents use Orthanc API for, with concrete tasks.
★ Imaging Research Data Pipeline
Research teams use the Orthanc API to pull anonymised DICOM studies into machine-learning training pipelines. The /studies/{id}/anonymize endpoint strips PHI tags in place, while /instances/{id}/file returns the raw DICOM binary for storage in object stores. Throughput is bounded by Orthanc's local disk and any configured DICOM peers, and integration typically takes a day for a basic ingest loop.
Anonymise study with Orthanc ID abc123 by calling POST /studies/abc123/anonymize and download the resulting DICOM ZIP from the returned job.
Clinical Modality Routing
Hospitals route DICOM studies between modalities, PACS, and viewers using Orthanc as a hub. Agents call /modalities/{id}/store to push selected studies to a remote modality, and use /jobs to track asynchronous transfers. The /queries endpoint supports DICOM C-FIND for upstream queries, enabling federated imaging workflows across departments.
Send study with ID xyz to modality 'RADIOLOGY_PACS' via POST /modalities/RADIOLOGY_PACS/store with the study resource ID and poll the returned job until completion.
DICOM Tag Cleanup and Modification
Imaging coordinators correct or harmonise DICOM tags across cohorts using the Orthanc modify endpoints. /instances/{id}/modify and /studies/{id}/modify rewrite tags such as PatientName, AccessionNumber, or StudyDescription while preserving image pixel data. Bulk operations are handled through asynchronous jobs, making it practical to fix tag inconsistencies across thousands of instances.
Update PatientName on study abc123 to 'ANON_001' by POSTing to /studies/abc123/modify with the Replace dictionary set accordingly.
AI Agent DICOM Orchestration via Jentic
AI agents that triage radiology cases need a programmable DICOM layer. Through Jentic, an agent searches for 'retrieve a DICOM study', loads the matching Orthanc operation schema, and executes the call with a scoped credential. This avoids embedding raw Orthanc credentials in agent prompts and lets the agent compose retrieval, anonymisation, and routing into a single workflow.
Use Jentic to search 'retrieve a DICOM study', load the GET /studies/{id} schema, and execute it for the patient currently being triaged.
Key Endpoints
299 endpoints — the orthanc api exposes the full rest interface of the orthanc dicom server, letting clients ingest, retrieve, and orchestrate medical imaging data across studies, series, instances, and patients.
METHOD
PATH
DESCRIPTION
GET
/studies
List all studies stored on the server
GET
/studies/{id}
Get details for a specific study
POST
/studies/{id}/anonymize
Anonymise a study and return a new resource
POST
/studies/{id}/modify
Modify DICOM tags across a study
GET
/instances/{id}/file
Download the raw DICOM file for an instance
POST
/modalities/{id}/store
Send a resource to a configured DICOM modality
GET
/changes
Read the server change log
GET
/jobs
List asynchronous jobs and their status
GET
/studies
List all studies stored on the server
GET
/studies/{id}
Get details for a specific study
POST
/studies/{id}/anonymize
Anonymise a study and return a new resource
POST
/studies/{id}/modify
Modify DICOM tags across a study
GET
/instances/{id}/file
Download the raw DICOM file for an instance
POST
/modalities/{id}/store
Send a resource to a configured DICOM modality
GET
/changes
Read the server change log
GET
/jobs
List asynchronous jobs and their status
Why Jentic?
What agents get from Jentic-routed access to this vendor.
Setup
The Orthanc API can run without credentials, but wiring it by hand still means handling any basic auth a hardened deployment adds and mapping the study, instance, and modality routes yourself. Through Jentic you install once, import Orthanc from the API Directory, store any credential once, and your agent calls it.
Permission scoping
You choose which Orthanc operations the agent may call, so you can limit it to the operations it needs, such as listing studies and reading instance files, while destructive operations like modifying or anonymizing a study or storing to a modality stay out of the allowed set unless you add them.
Credential isolation
Any HTTP basic credentials your hardened Orthanc deployment uses are stored once, encrypted, by your own Jentic One instance and injected at execution time. They never enter the agent's prompt, logs, or context.
Intent-based discovery
Agents search Jentic by intent such as 'anonymize a DICOM study' or 'download an instance file', and Jentic returns the matching Orthanc operation with its input schema so the agent calls the right endpoint without browsing the reference docs.
Related APIs
Alternatives and complements available in the Jentic catalogue.
FAQs
Specific to using Orthanc API through Jentic.
What authentication does the Orthanc API use?
The published OpenAPI specification declares no security schemes, so by default the Orthanc REST API is reachable without credentials on the demo server. In production deployments operators usually enable HTTP Basic auth via the Orthanc configuration file. When called through Jentic, any configured Basic credential is held in your Jentic One instance and injected at execution time, so it never enters the agent's prompt.
Can I anonymise a DICOM study with the Orthanc API?
Yes. POST /studies/{id}/anonymize creates a new anonymised resource derived from the original study, with PHI tags such as PatientName and PatientID replaced. The same pattern exists at the instance and series level via /instances/{id}/anonymize and /series/{id}/anonymize.
What are the rate limits for the Orthanc API?
Orthanc itself does not impose documented rate limits in its OpenAPI spec; throughput is constrained by the host server's CPU, disk, and any front-line reverse proxy or firewall. For long-running operations such as anonymisation or modality store, the API returns a job ID and you poll /jobs/{id} for completion rather than blocking on the request.
How do I send a study to another DICOM modality through Jentic?
Through Jentic, search for 'send a study to a DICOM modality', load the schema for POST /modalities/{id}/store, and execute it with the modality alias and the Orthanc resource ID. The call returns a job ID that you can pass to GET /jobs/{id} to verify completion.
Is the Orthanc API free to use?
Orthanc is open-source under the GPLv3 licence and the REST API is included with every Orthanc deployment at no cost. There is no per-call pricing - operational cost is the infrastructure you run Orthanc on.
Can the Orthanc API stream new imaging events?
Yes. GET /changes returns a paginated change log of every event the server has seen, including NewInstance, NewStudy, and StablePatient. Agents poll /changes with the last seen sequence to react to new imaging data without scanning the full dataset.
Can I limit what my agent is allowed to do with the Orthanc API?
Yes. Because you run your own self-hosted Jentic One instance, you decide which Orthanc operations the agent may call, so you can restrict it to read-only work such as listing studies with GET /studies and downloading instance files with GET /instances/{id}/file. Destructive operations, like modifying a study with POST /studies/{id}/modify, anonymising one with POST /studies/{id}/anonymize, or pushing a study to a device with POST /modalities/{id}/store, stay outside the allowed set unless you explicitly add them. Your own rules govern which operations and credentials the agent can use.
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