Information about the identity of the device that was used to perform the acquisition is recognized as having a potential for leakage of identity because it may constrain the number of possible individuals that could be the imaging subject, though only if there is access to other information about the individuals concerned to match it against.

However, there are applications that require such device information to perform the analysis or interpretation. The type of correction for spatial or other inhomogeneity may require knowledge of the specific device serial number. Confirmation that specific devices that have been previously qualified (e.g., with phantoms) may be required. Further, there may be a need to maintain a record of the device used for regulatory or registry purposes, yet the acquisition site may not maintain an adequate electronic audit trail.

When this Option is specified in addition to the Basic Application Level Confidentiality Profile, information about the identity of the device in the Attributes shall be retained, as described in Table E.1-1.

For some retained values, such as Application Entity Titles, if these are to be retained they are specifed to be Cleaned, rather than just Kept, since they may contain embedded institution or person identification information that is not intended to be disclosed.