Projects

This page lists all projects configured in Karnak and lets you create, edit, and delete them. A project is linked to a profile and contains a secret used for de-identification.

Project page Project page

1. Create a project

To create a new project:

  1. Enter a name.
  2. Select a profile.
  3. Click Add.

The project is added to the list and its details appear in the right panel.

2. Project list

All available projects are listed in the left panel.
Selecting a project displays its details on the right.

3. Project details

In the details view you can:

  • Change the project name.
  • Change the de-identification profile.

Click Update to save your changes.

4. Project secret

The project secret is central to Karnak’s de-identification process.
It is a 32-character hexadecimal value.

  • A secret is automatically generated when the project is created.
  • In the details view, the secret is shown along with its creation date and time.

You can generate a new secret by clicking Generate Secret. When you do this:

  • Previous secrets are kept in the database.
  • You can select any previous secret to use again.

Project secret history Project secret history

Warning

Changing the project secret can cause data consistency issues between old and new de-identified DICOM instances. Use this feature with caution and only when necessary.

A destination is associated with a project for de-identification, as described in the Destination configuration.

To generate new values like UIDs and pseudonymize some patient information, Karnak uses a hash function seeded with the project secret. This makes the generated values unique per project and deterministic as long as the secret does not change.

Implications of changing the secret:

  • If a DICOM instance is de-identified twice using the same project, secret, and profile, the resulting de-identified instances are identical.
  • If the secret changes, de-identifying the same DICOM instance again with the same project and profile but the new secret will produce different de-identified instances.

Details about the algorithm and UID generation using the project secret are available here.

5. Action buttons
  • Click Update to save any change made to a project.
  • Click Remove to delete the selected project.

If the project is associated with a destination, deletion fails and an error message is displayed.

Delete error Delete error