SonoGif.com: A Free Online Tool to Remove Protected Health Information From Any Ultrasound Clip

The proliferation of online medical education, particularly in point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS), has been limited by challenges in removing protected health information (PHI) from imaging data. These challenges include PHI embedded in both metadata and within the ultrasound images themselves, complicating compliance with HIPAA standards.

To describe the development and functionality of SonoGif.com, a free, browser-based tool designed to facilitate the de-identification and sharing of ultrasound clips without the need for specialized software.

SonoGif was developed using JavaScript to run entirely within a web browser, preserving data privacy by ensuring ultrasound clips remain on the user's device during initial processing. DICOM files are parsed using the open-source dicomParser library, while standard video formats are rendered with native HTML5 Canvas APIs. Users can manually annotate images to obscure on-screen PHI. The resulting de-identified frames are transmitted to a secure server, where FFmpeg compiles them into shareable video formats.

Since its public release in 2019, SonoGif has been used to de-identify over 3000 ultrasound clips by users worldwide, including those in low-resource settings. Its accessibility, simplicity, and adherence to privacy regulations have made it a valuable tool for medical educators and clinicians seeking to share ultrasound media for teaching and research.

SonoGif is a free web-based application that allows for easy and secure removal of PHI from ultrasound media. It broadens global access to ultrasound education by eliminating technical barriers and enabling safe image sharing across diverse clinical and educational environments. The platform is available at https://sonogif.com with source code accessible on GitHub.