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How to de-identify a file in Net Station 5.0 - 5.3.x

At times it is necessary to remove patient sensitive information from a Net Station MFF file, for the purpose of sharing or archiving a file. To achive this involves opening the Package Contents of the MFF and editing some of the XML files within.  The steps described below will you lead you through the process in any version of Net Station prior to Net Station 5.4. 

1. First of all, you will want to make sure you have Text Wrangler installed on your computer.  If you do not, refer to the document How to Install Text Wrangler

2. Next, in the Finder, navigate to the EEG file of the patient that you would like to edit.

4. If you need to change the file name, click on the file to select it and then press the “Return” key on the keyboard. The file name is now editable. Start typing to change the name as necessary. Press “Return” again when you are finished.

5. Right click on the file (or hold down the “control” key and click on the file.)

6. Select  “Show Package Contents”

NS Review error Package contents

7. Once you are inside the Package Contents of the MFF, you will see a list of files the make up the MFF.  To remove sensitive patient information from the MFF, you will need to edit the following files from within the package contents of the MFF (also indicated by the red arrows in the image):  -subject.xml
-All files that end in “.mov”
-log_[FileName].txt 
-movieSynchs1.xml

Pasted Graphic 3

7. To get started, right click on “subject.xml” (control+click).

8. Select “Open With” then select Text Wrangler. If you do not see Text Wrangler, select “Other” and continue to Step 9. Otherwise continue to Step 11.

Open With TextWrangler

9. Scroll through your applications list until you get to Text Wrangler.

Open With TextWranger 2

10. Click “Open”

11. Once you have your patient information (subject.xml file) open in Text Wrangler, you can edit and change the identifying information.

* As a general rule when using Text Wrangler to edit XML files, only edit characters in between the > < , i.e. >Doe,John< becomes >JD<  Do not make edit anything else in the file unless given specific instructions to do so by the EGI Support Team!

subjectXML image

12. Click  File - > Save when you are done editing.  13. Go back to the MFF Package Contents and edit the contents of “movieSyncs1.xml” in Text Wrangler:  
      a.  Right click on the “movieSyncs1.xml” file (or hold Control +click) and select “Open with” then select Text Wrangler. From the Text Wrangler interface, edit only the lines where the patient / subject name appears, and be consistent in the edits, i.e. if you are changing >Doe,John< to >JD< , ensure this change is consistent throughout the edits you make to this file. 

movieSynchs1XML image

14. Go back to the MFF Package Contents and edit the name of the “.mov” files:
     a. To change the name of the .mov files, select the file and press the “Return” key on the keyboard. The file name is now editable. Start typing to change the name as necessary. Click “Return” when you are finished. *Note that all edits you make across the different locations must be consistent, i.e. if you are changing “Doe,John” to “JD” then this must be the same across all files indicated in this document, otherwise a desynchronization between the EEG and video files could result.  15. Go back to the MFF Package Contents and edit the name of the “log.txt” file: 
     a. Repeat step 14.a above to change the name of this file.  16. To confirm you have successfully edited the Patient Information, close the Package Contents of the MFF and then double click on the MFF icon to open it in Net Station.  17. Verify in the left column under the “Patient” tab that the new information is now present:

EditedPatientInfo

18. To confirm the video file edits were successful, open the video file from within Net Station Review, and confirm it opens with no problems.  You’re done!


Additional Info

  • Product Type: Net Station 5
  • Information Type: Technical Advice / Troubleshooting
Last modified on Thursday, 01 June 2017 22:07

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