Bridge HL7 and DICOM On-Prem – Without the Enterprise Price Tag
A DICOM Listener, an HL7 Listener, a Modality Worklist Server, and full message mapping – one on-premises engine, not a stack of licensed connectors.
ZiKiT combines a DICOM Archive (PACS), a Modality Worklist Server, and an HL7 Message Broker – all sharing the same database and talking to each other natively. Build and maintain HL7 and DICOM interfaces by mapping fields directly, not hand-coding them, and stay compliant with the standards the whole time.
The Full Order-to-Report Loop, Natively
One engine, one database, covering every HL7/DICOM touchpoint from the order to the final report – instead of stitching together separate tools for worklist, storage, and interfacing.
Works With Any EMR or HIS That Speaks HL7
ZiKiT doesn’t care which EMR or HIS is on the other end of the interface – Epic, Oracle Health (Cerner), MEDITECH, athenahealth, or a smaller regional system – as long as it speaks standard HL7 v2.x, ZiKiT’s HL7 Listener can consume its orders and its HL7 Message Broker can send results back. That matters because every one of those systems is configured a little differently at every site: the same ADT or ORM feed rarely looks identical from one hospital to the next.
That’s exactly what ZiKiT Mapper is for. When you roll the same integration out to a new site and the HL7 messages don’t quite match what you built against last time, you adjust the mapping rule – drag a different field, add a segment – instead of opening a code editor. For teams shipping the same integration to many hospitals, each with its own HL7 quirks, that difference is the whole ballgame.
Why “ZiKiT”?
ZiKiT is Hebrew for chameleon – the name reflects how the product works. No two hospitals send identical HL7 messages, and no two modality vendors implement DICOM identically. Instead of hard-coding around those differences, ZiKiT adapts to each site through mapping rules and SQL views, blending into whatever HIS, EMR, or device fleet it’s deployed against.
Bridges the Gap to SQL
ZiKiT installs with a zero-configuration SQLite database and built-in mapping rules already in place – run your first inbound and outbound HL7 messages within minutes of installing, no setup project required. From there, point the same tooling at MS SQL Server or MySQL and it scales straight through to enterprise deployments, no re-platforming required.
The real trick is what that bridges: because ZiKiT Mapper maps HL7 and DICOM fields directly onto database tables and columns, your team builds and maintains interfaces in the same SQL-centric terms you already use to run everything else – not in a proprietary scripting language locked to one integration engine vendor. That’s a materially smaller team, and a materially shorter project, than the usual enterprise integration engine route of per-connector licensing and specialist consultants.
- No programming required – interfaces are built by dragging and dropping message fields onto database columns.
- Works out of the box with SQLite and built-in mappings; scales to MS SQL Server or MySQL when you need it.
- One vendor for DICOM Storage, Query/Retrieve, Modality Worklist, MPPS, and HL7 messaging – not four separate systems to license and maintain.
Supported Database Engines
Every message rule, every mapping, every configuration screen works the same way across all three – move up to a bigger database without redesigning your interfaces.
MS SQL Server
The engine behind ZiKiT’s largest deployments – load-balanced, multi-instance PACS installations handling tens of millions of records. The right choice once you’re past evaluation and into production.
MySQL
Fully supported as a production alternative, with the same mapping tools and schema access as MS SQL Server.
SQLite
Zero configuration, built in out of the box. Runs on light hardware – down to a single tablet – and is the fastest way to evaluate ZiKiT with no database setup at all.
Drag-and-Drop HL7 Mapping
ZiKiT Mapper turns interface design into a visual, drag-and-drop task. Drag fields from the incoming message structure onto your database schema to build inbound rules; for outbound messages, watch the actual HL7 message get generated as you edit the rules in a live preview.
DICOM Mapping, Not Just DICOM Storage
Most PACS servers store DICOM files and stop there. ZiKiT’s DICOM Mapper goes further: it extracts data directly out of DICOM tags and writes it into your own database schema, using the same drag-and-drop tooling as the HL7 side – so DICOM metadata becomes usable application data, not just an archived file.
Main Features
DICOM Services
- Archive (PACS): Storage SCP
- Query/Retrieve SCP
- Modality Worklist SCP (DMWL/MWL)
- Modality Performed Procedure Step SCP (MPPS)
HL7 Services
- HL7 Message Broker
- Send and receive HL7 messages
- Drag & drop dynamic mapping rules and protocol definitions
- HL7 v2.x and HL7 v2.XML
Network & Security
- Secure DICOM (TLS 1.2)
- Secure HL7 MLLP over TCP/IP
- Hot folder integration (shared network folders)
- Multiple remote destinations per interface
Database Support
- MS SQL Server for full-scale deployments
- MySQL, fully supported
- SQLite – zero-configuration, runs on light hardware
- Same schema tooling across all three
Proven at Scale
ZiKiT’s DICOM Server isn’t a side project bolted on for this product – it’s the same DICOM engine that H.R.Z. Software Services builds its other imaging products on, battle-tested across multiple deployments rather than written from scratch for one. It also stands entirely on its own: if you don’t need the HL7 side yet, run the DICOM Server by itself as a lightweight PACS and add HL7 integration whenever you’re ready.
That foundation is what let ZiKiT run in production for over a decade at Center for Vein Restoration, scaling alongside their growth into a load-balanced, multi-instance PACS deployment. Read the full story:
Center for Vein Restoration: A Decade of DICOM Partnership & Scalability →
DICOM and HL7 are registered trademarks.