HIPAA Security Rule Compliant
ISO 27001 Certified
US-Only Data Centers
448-Bit Encryption
How Radiology Centers Store On-Premise Diagnostic Imaging Data
Radiology and imaging centers operate some of the most data-intensive on-premise infrastructure in healthcare.
PACS servers store diagnostic imaging archives, locally installed RIS systems manage workflows and reporting, and DICOM files move between on-site modalities and diagnostic workstations.
All of this runs on hardware your organization owns, on networks you control, and on servers where the responsibility for protection falls entirely on your team.
When any part of this on-premise chain fails:
- A PACS server goes down
- A RIS database becomes corrupted
- Ransomware encrypts a local imaging archive
- A DICOM file becomes incomplete or unreadable
🗄️ PACS Servers
Store diagnostic imaging archives, including CT scans, MRIs, ultrasounds, X-rays, and other imaging studies used by radiologists and diagnostic teams.
📋 RIS Systems
Manage imaging workflows, exam scheduling, reporting, and patient exam records through locally installed radiology information systems.
🖼️ DICOM Imaging Files
Move between on-site modalities, local PACS archives, diagnostic workstations, and imaging viewers across your on-premise environment.
📦 Local Imaging Archives
Store high-volume diagnostic imaging data on servers your organization owns, controls, and is responsible for protecting.
⚠️ Clinical Decision Risk
A corrupt CT scan with missing slices or an MRI series that cannot open can delay or compromise clinical decisions entirely.
What Radiology Imaging Data Needs to Be Backed Up?
CT Study Backup for Large Multi-Slice Imaging Files
MRI Series Backup for Multi-Sequence Imaging Data
X-Ray and Fluoroscopy Backup for Long-Term Retention
Ultrasound Archive Backup for Still Images and Cine Loops
Still images and cine loops stored on-premise from obstetric, cardiac, and vascular studies must remain protected and recoverable.
Diagnostic Report Backup for Clinical and Legal Records
RIS Database Backup for Orders, Scheduling, and PHI
On-premise RIS exam orders, scheduling records, workflow data, and patient demographics are all PHI requiring protection.
Radiology Backup Risks for PACS, RIS, and DICOM Systems
Standard Backup Fails for On-Premise PACS & DICOM Files
On-premise radiology infrastructure faces backup challenges that general-purpose tools were not built to handle.
These include:
- Massive local file volumes
- Mission-critical system dependencies
- Long-term imaging retention needs
- DICOM integrity requirements
- Clinical consequences of failed restores
A failed restore in radiology goes beyond data loss. It can become a diagnostic failure.
Corrupt DICOM Files Can Break Radiology Restores
Standard backup tools may copy DICOM files from your PACS without verifying whether those files are complete and readable.
A CT study or MRI series with missing data can pass through a backup job without any error. The issue may only appear when a radiologist attempts to open the file after a server failure or ransomware event.
CDS verifies every DICOM file before it enters the archive, blocking corrupted or incomplete imaging studies before they can compromise a recovery.
Ransomware Protection for On-Premise PACS Systems
On-premise radiology infrastructure is a high-value ransomware target because attackers know PACS downtime is immediately costly and operationally visible.
An attack that encrypts a local PACS archive can halt diagnostic operations within hours.
CDS maintains a fully network-isolated backup archive that remains unreachable by ransomware that penetrates your on-premise imaging network.
Common Radiology Backup Risk Scenarios
Standard healthcare backup tools copy files without verifying whether those files are
actually complete and usable. CDS scans and verifies every file before storage.
| Scenario | ✕ Without CDS | ✓ With CDS |
|---|---|---|
| Ransomware on local PACS | On-premise archive encrypted — operations halted | Isolated archive intact — restore initiated immediately |
| Corrupt DICOM file on server | Stored undetected — unusable at restore | Blocked before storage — never enters archive |
| Local RIS failure | Scheduling and reporting halted | Clean RIS restore gets workflows running same day |
| Large on-premise volume loss | Slow, incomplete restores from local failure | Verified imaging data restored fully at scale |
| Long-term retention gap | No scalable on-premise retention strategy | Scalable archive supports 7–10+ year retention |
| Silent backup failure | Failure undetected until restore attempted | Real-time monitoring with immediate anomaly alerts |
How CDS Backup Works With
Radiology & Imaging Centers?
CDS backs up on-premise PACS servers, RIS databases, and DICOM imaging archives directly — without cloud integration, software changes, or manual staff steps.
Every file is scanned before storage to detect corrupted, incomplete, or infected DICOM data. Only clean, complete, and restorable imaging data enters the CDS archive.
DICOM File Verification
On-Premise PACS & RIS Backup
Ransomware Isolation
448-Bit Encryption
US-Only Data Centers
Real-Time Monitoring
Long-Term Retention Support
High-Volume Scalable Storage
Built for on-premise MRI, CT, ultrasound, and X-ray imaging volumes — expandable as your local archive grows.
Meeting Compliance Obligations for On-Premise Radiology and Diagnostic Imaging Data
Radiology and imaging centers carry strict data protection obligations — combining HIPAA requirements with long-term imaging retention mandates, accreditation standards, and the clinical-legal weight of on-premise diagnostic records.
CDS handles the backup compliance layer completely for your local infrastructure.
Long-term imaging retention support- Business Associate Agreement signed at onboarding
- HIPAA Security Rule safeguard support
- Access control and audit trail logging
- Transmission security for imaging data
- ISO 27001 certification
Long-Term On-Premise Imaging Retention
CDS’s scalable storage supports long-term retention as a built-in capability, not an expensive upgrade.
Business Associate Agreement (BAA)
CDS signs a BAA with every radiology and imaging center at onboarding as standard.
ISO 27001 Certification
HIPAA Security Rule Safeguards
The HIPAA Security Rule’s technical safeguards apply to every system storing ePHI, including on-premise PACS servers, local RIS databases, and DICOM imaging repositories.
CDS supports access controls, audit trail logging, and transmission security as built-in platform capabilities.
Simple, Transparent Pricing for
Radiology and Imaging Centers
Unison by CDS is available monthly or annually, covering your on-premise PACS, RIS, and DICOM infrastructure with no surprise fees at renewal.
Pay Month to Month
Unison Monthly Plan
Everything in the monthly plan, billed annually. The most cost-effective way to keep your on-premise imaging archive fully protected year-round.
Best value for your center
Unison Annual Plan
Everything in the monthly plan, billed annually. The most cost-effective way to keep your practice fully protected year-round.
Have High-Volume On-Premise Imaging Needs or Large PACS Archives?
Questions from Radiology & Imaging Centers
Does CDS back up our on-premise PACS system directly?
During onboarding, CDS configures your backup environment around your specific on-premise infrastructure. No cloud integration is required and no changes are needed to how your radiology team accesses their systems day to day.
How does CDS handle the large file volumes stored on our local PACS?
CDS’s storage architecture is built specifically for high-volume on-premise imaging environments.
Single CT studies exceeding 1 GB, multi-sequence MRI series, and daily imaging volumes across multiple on-premise modalities are all handled without the performance issues that generic backup tools experience at imaging scale.
Storage is expandable by terabyte as your local archive grows.
What happens if a DICOM file on our server is corrupt — will CDS catch it?
Before any DICOM file is accepted into your backup archive, it goes through a full integrity and security scan. Files that are corrupted, incomplete, or infected on your local server are blocked before storage.
When you restore after a ransomware event or server failure, every imaging study you recover is complete and clinically usable.
How long does CDS retain our on-premise imaging data in the backup archive?
Most radiology regulations require a minimum of 7 to 10 years, with longer requirements for pediatric imaging in many states.
CDS’s scalable storage supports long-term retention without requiring infrastructure changes or contract renegotiations as your backup archive accumulates over time.
How quickly can our imaging center recover if our on-premise PACS goes down?
Because every archived file is pre-verified as clean and complete, there’s no time lost discovering corrupt restores mid-recovery. Your team is trained during onboarding to initiate restores independently, and CDS support is available throughout the process.
Does CDS sign a BAA for radiology and imaging centers?
This fulfills your HIPAA obligation to document every vendor that stores or accesses your on-premise diagnostic imaging data.
How is on-premise radiology backup different from standard healthcare backup?
CDS is configured specifically for on-premise imaging environments rather than applying a generic approach to a radiology-specific problem.
Our current backup vendor has not signed a BAA with us. Is that a problem?
Ready to Protect Your
Radiology & Imaging Data?
Book a free demo and see how CDS protects your on-premise
PACS, RIS, and DICOM data with verified, fully managed backup.
