Step-by-Step Guide to Installing SATUSEHAT DICOM Router: Windows and Docker Linux

Connecting Radiology Modalities to SATUSEHAT

For hospitals and diagnostic clinics across Indonesia, integrating radiology into SATUSEHAT represents one of the most technical milestones in electronic medical record (EMR) compliance. Unlike outpatient summaries or pharmacy prescriptions that exchange lightweight JSON payloads, radiology involves multi-megabyte binary datasets structured under the international DICOM standard (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine).

To bridge local imaging equipment (X-Ray, CT, MRI, Ultrasound) or on-premise PACS servers with the National Imaging Data Repository (NIDR), the Ministry of Health (Kemkes) provides official middleware known as the DICOM Router.

The DICOM Router listens as a C-STORE SCP receiver on default port 11112, extracts examination metadata (specifically the Accession Number), matches it against a previously registered ServiceRequest in SATUSEHAT, and forwards the imagery to the NIDR cloud store.

Official SATUSEHAT documentation provides two deployment pathways: the Windows Binary Installer and Docker Compose for Linux/VMs. This guide walks through both methods step-by-step and covers battle-tested solutions for the five most common technical hurdles encountered in the field.

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Prerequisites Before Installation

Before configuring your server, make sure you have prepared the following assets:

1. SATUSEHAT API Credentials: Your Organization ID, Client ID, and Client Secret (retrievable from the SATUSEHAT Platform developer portal for both Sandbox and Production).
2. Static Network IP: The machine hosting the DICOM Router requires a static local IP address so modalities and local PACS instances can consistently reach it.
3. Open Ports: Verify that port 11112 (DICOM storage) and port 8080 (HTTP configuration/API) are accessible through local firewalls and not claimed by competing applications.

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Option 1: Windows Installation (Binary Installer)

This approach is commonly chosen by type C and D hospitals or outpatient clinics running a dedicated Windows workstation as their imaging bridge.

Step 1: Downloading the Installer via API

The installer package is not provided via open web browser links. You must perform an authenticated HTTP GET request using Postman, cURL, or an automated script with a valid SATUSEHAT Bearer Token:

• Sandbox: https://api-satusehat-stg.dto.kemkes.go.id/dicom-router-installer
• Production: https://api-satusehat.kemkes.go.id/dicom-router-installer

Request Header:

Authorization: Bearer <access_token_satusehat>

Save the response body as dicom-router.zip and extract its contents.

Step 2: Running the Installer

1. Open the extracted directory, right-click dicom-router.exe, and select Run as administrator.
2. When prompted for the installer password, enter the official credential:

   dtokemkes

3. Complete the setup wizard. By default, the application installs to: C:\Program Files (x86)\DICOM Router\

Step 3: Configuring router.conf

Open router.conf inside the installation folder using an elevated text editor (with Administrator privileges). Enter your facility credentials:

[settings]
org_id=100026xxx
client_id=your_client_id_here
client_secret=your_client_secret_here
url=https://api-satusehat.kemkes.go.id
http_port=8080
dicom_port=11112
ae_title=DCMROUTER

Critical Notice: Do not leave whitespace around the equals sign (=). Formatting lines like org_id = 1000xxx frequently causes silent credential parsing failures in the underlying runtime.

Step 4: Starting the DICOM Router

Launch the application via the desktop shortcut or Start Menu. When running normally, the console displays active listeners on port 11112 for DICOM transactions and port 8080 for internal HTTP coordination.

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Option 2: Docker Installation (Linux / VM)

The containerized Docker deployment is recommended for production hospital environments running Linux servers (Ubuntu Server, AlmaLinux, Debian) due to superior process isolation, logging, and restart resilience.

Step 1: Downloading docker-compose.zip

As with the Windows package, retrieve the Docker deployment bundle using an authenticated GET request:

• Sandbox: https://api-satusehat-stg.dto.kemkes.go.id/dicom-router
• Production: https://api-satusehat.kemkes.go.id/dicom-router

Save the file as docker-compose.zip and extract it on your Linux host:

unzip docker-compose.zip -d dicom-router
cd dicom-router

Step 2: Structure and Configuration of docker-compose.yml

A production-ready docker-compose.yml file is structured as follows:

version: '3.8'
services:
  dicom:
    image: registry.dto.kemkes.go.id/pub/dicom-router:latest
    container_name: dicom-router
    restart: always
    ports:
      - "11112:11112"
      - "8080:8080"
    environment:
      - ORG_ID=100026xxx
      - CLIENT=your_client_id
      - SECRET=your_client_secret
      - URL=https://api-satusehat.kemkes.go.id
      - AE_TITLE=DCMROUTER
    volumes:
      - ./in:/app/in
    networks:
      - dicom-network

networks:
  dicom-network:
    driver: bridge

Step 3: Launching the Container

With Docker Engine and the Compose plugin installed, launch the daemon in detached mode:

docker compose up -d

Monitor live runtime logs to ensure initialization is clean:

docker logs -f dicom-router

Step 4: Web UI Configuration

If you prefer not to hardcode credentials into the YAML file, you can configure them via the built-in browser dashboard: http://<server-ip>:8080/config

Provide your Organization ID, Client ID, and Client Secret, then click Save.

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5 Practical Field Pitfalls and How to Fix Them

Drawing from thousands of real-world implementation logs across Indonesian hospitals, these are the most frequent stumbling blocks:

Issue Symptom	Underlying Root Cause	Battle-Tested Solution
Windows silent crash / unprocessed files	Windows default 260-character path limit (LongPathsEnabled)	Open regedit $\to$ navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem $\to$ set LongPathsEnabled to 1, then reboot.
Error ServiceRequest not found	The DICOM file was transmitted before the ServiceRequest resource reached SATUSEHAT	Enforce strict sequencing: SIMRS sends ServiceRequest first, stores the Accession Number, and only then triggers DICOM forwarding.
Accession Number reading failure	The internal order numbering format exceeds 16 characters	The official Kemkes DICOM Router enforces a strict 16-character maximum. Shorten your facility’s internal accession format accordingly.
Docker error No such file or directory: /app/in	The host volume staging folder was not pre-created	Run mkdir -p in in the directory containing docker-compose.yml before running docker compose up.
Local server disk capacity exhaustion	Transmitted .dcm files are not purged automatically from /app/in	Schedule a daily cron job or Windows Task to delete processed files older than 3 days.

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Testing DICOM Routing from PACS or Modalities

Once your DICOM Router is active and listening on port 11112:

1. Navigate to the DICOM Network settings in your local PACS (such as Orthanc, dcm4chee, or K-PACS).
2. Register a new destination entity (DICOM Modality):
   • Application Entity (AE) Title: DCMROUTER
   • IP Address: IP of the server running the DICOM Router
   • Port: 11112
3. Perform a connectivity verification (C-ECHO / DICOM Ping). Once confirmed, send a sample study containing an Accession Number that has already been registered in SATUSEHAT.
4. Verify success by executing a GET /ImagingStudy?identifier=http://sys-ids.kemkes.go.id/acsn/<Org_ID>|<ACSN> query against the SATUSEHAT API.

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The Modern Alternative: Bypassing Local Router Maintenance

Setting up and maintaining a dedicated on-premise DICOM Router requires continuous hardware allocation, port monitoring, disk cleanup routines, and manual patch updates whenever new versions are released.

For healthcare facilities seeking a cleaner, zero-infrastructure path, cloud-native architecture offers an integrated answer:

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Imagestro-PACS provides native cloud routing directly into SATUSEHAT without requiring separate DICOM Router installations or on-premise server maintenance. Featuring an integrated web DICOM viewer, automated Modality Worklist (MWL) management, and in-browser Accession Number modification, Imagestro ensures your radiology data connects smoothly to SATUSEHAT with complete regulatory compliance. Start with Imagestro Free Tier or explore the architecture on our Imagestro-PACS solution page.