DICOM Attribute

Pixel Padding Value (0028,0120)

Keyword
PixelPaddingValue
VR
US or SS
VM
1

Definition

Single pixel value or one limit (inclusive) of a range of pixel values used in an image to pad to rectangular format or to signal background that may be suppressed or that may be rendered "transparently" when superimposing images. See for further explanation. Required if Pixel Padding Range Limit (0028,0121) is present and either Pixel Data (7FE0,0010) or Pixel Data Provider URL (0028,7FE0) is present. May be present otherwise only if Pixel Data (7FE0,0010) or Pixel Data Provider URL (0028,7FE0) is present. The Value Representation of this Attribute is determined by the Value of Pixel Representation (0028,0103). This Attribute is not used in Presentation State Instances; there is no means in a Presentation State to "override" any Pixel Padding Value (0028,0120) specified in the referenced images. This Attribute does apply to RT Dose and Segmentation Instances, since they include Pixel Data. This Attribute does not apply when Float Pixel Data (7FE0,0008) or Double Float Pixel Data (7FE0,0009) are used instead of Pixel Data (7FE0,0010); Float Pixel Padding Value (0028,0122) or Double Float Pixel Padding Value (0028,0123), respectively, are used instead, and defined at the Image, not the Equipment, level. Only a single Value is allowed for this Attribute, so it only applies to images with Samples per Pixel (0028,0002) of 1, i.e., images with a Photometric Interpretation (0028,0004) of MONOCHROME1, MONOCHROME2 or PALETTE COLOR. See for details.

From NEMA PS3.3 §C.7.5.1.

Attribute Metadata

Tag
(0028,0120)
Keyword
PixelPaddingValue
Name
Pixel Padding Value
Value Representation (VR)
US or SS
Value Multiplicity (VM)
1
Status
Active
Source
NEMA PS3.6 (table_6-1)

This attribute is part of the current DICOM Standard. Its value representation is US or SS with multiplicity 1.

Used in 1 Module

This attribute uses the US or SS Value Representation. Multiplicity 1 governs how many values may be encoded.

Integration Notes

Real-world integration guidance for engineers implementing this attribute in Mirth Connect, FHIR gateways, HL7 v2 bridges, and cloud DICOM services. Authoritative source data where available; reference examples and operational notes where they add value.

FHIR Mapping

No direct FHIR ImagingStudy mapping published for this attribute. Some tags map indirectly via the Patient, Endpoint, or ImagingSelection resources — Phase 2b will expand coverage to those.

HL7 v2 Equivalent

No standard HL7 v2 equivalent published for this attribute. Imaging-only attributes (Image Pixel data, technical acquisition parameters, modality-specific values) typically have no HL7 v2 carrier.

Cloud DICOM Support

AWS HealthImaging, Azure DICOM, and GCP Healthcare DICOM coverage rolls out by attribute. The QIDO-RS matching keys + Patient/Study/Series core (~50 attributes) are documented; lower-traffic attributes will be added as Saga teams encounter them in production.

Real-World Sample Values

  • -2000 CT_small.dcm

Extracted from pydicom test fixtures (MIT, de-identified).

Mirth Connect Example

JavaScript transformer snippets for the most-queried tags will be added as coverage expands.

Common Operational Errors

Operational error patterns for the most-queried tags will be added as coverage expands.

DICOM Integration Services

Saga IT builds production DICOM integrations across Mirth Connect, FHIR gateways, and cloud imaging platforms. If you're working with PixelPaddingValue or the broader (0028,0120) context: