These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of the Medcol Collaboration Platform - MEDCOL - FZCO Service (the "Service” and "Platform” as defined below). By accepting the Terms of Service, an agreement is entered into by you ("you” or "User”) and MEDCOL - FZCO, company registration number DSO-FZCO-24090 having its registered address at No DSO-THUB-1-S-FLEX-103 Building Name THUB Area Name Dubai Silicon Oasis ("we” or "us”). The Service is provided through our mobile and desktop application (the "App”) and webpage www.medcol.io and any subdomains (the "Webpage”). You accept these Terms of Service by using the Service or creating a user account with us. If you do not agree to these Terms of Service, please do not use the Service provided by us.
The Service
In these Terms of Service, all parties using our Service are referred to as "Users" or "you," which includes you as a party to this agreement established by accepting these Terms.
Our Platform is designed for licensed medical professionals who have gained access through an agreement with their employer/university or as an independent medical professional. We authenticate all Users during registration. Users should utilize the Service in their professional roles as healthcare professionals or researchers. Any other use, including commercial purposes, requires a separate written agreement with us. The Platform comprises three main functions:
Research: The Platform allows sponsors or researchers to organize and communicate datasets within a specific study design, streamlining collaboration and dataset logistics. Users can download data to local storage from the Platform to perform their operations.
Consultation: The Platform serves as an intelligent case-solving tool for medical professionals, enabling Users to collaborate on case evaluations, share expertise, and learn from one another. The Platform should be regarded as an auxiliary tool for analyzing patient case data, not a substitute for PACS and/or RIS systems.
Education: The Platform supports hosting and sharing educational patient cases while minimizing the dissemination of unnecessary personal data. Educational events may include scheduled courses or reference cases uploaded for community learning.
While providing these services, we process pseudonymized patient data, such as video, audio, PDF files, pictures, DICOM images, and embedded metadata. We act as data processors, while respective clinics or independent radiologists serve as data controllers. All patient health data in DICOM images are pseudonymized either at the source location's private network or via an encrypted link. Pseudonymization removes identifiable information, retaining only a unique identifier that links back to the original patient. This link is accessible only by the source clinic and the User, ensuring data protection compliance without violating patient privacy.
Pseudonymization eliminates attributes like names, birthdates, phone numbers, and any metadata tags that might indirectly identify the patient. We employ the de-identification method outlined in the DICOM standard 2017c, with specific tags removed or replaced as detailed in Table E.1-1 from PS 3.15 of the DICOM standard 2017c.
In order to accurately provide our Services, the following tags are retained as they play a crucial role in the medical context of our users and do not directly identify the patient:
Patient's Sex
Acquisition/Study/Content/Series Date
Study Description
Series Description
Contrast Bolus Agent
Content Sequence
The following tags are converted into groups, such as Patient Weight 70-80 kg, as required by policies at multiple large hospitals:
Patient's Age
Patient's Weight
Patient's Size
Once a Case has been finalized and a suggested diagnosis has been established, the Medcol Collaboration platform continues to offer educational services based on these historical cases. The aim is to help establish diagnoses in other Cases, train radiologists to become even more efficient, and develop radiology services to become more precise than today. A Case will be deleted three (3) months after its purpose is fulfilled.
Confidentiality and Privacy
The User acknowledges and agrees that any information accessed or uploaded to the Service may be subject to confidentiality obligations as stipulated by laws and regulations, such as the Patient Data Act (SFS 2008:355). Additionally, you agree to comply with the Non-Disclosure Agreement outlined in Annex 1.
The Medcol Collaboration Platform processes personal data when a User submits patient information to the Platform. This processing is governed by our Privacy Policy https://medcol.io/privacy-policyand in accordance with relevant data protection laws. Before allowing the upload of patient data for processing by the Medcol Collaboration Platform, we must legally establish a data processing agreement with you.
To ensure patient privacy when using the Service, all patient data relating to a uniquely identifiable individual is removed from the DICOM images during a pseudonymization process upon upload. Users are prompted to provide information about the patient's condition and/or other necessary details for diagnostic purposes alongside the pseudonymized images. When uploading a case to the Service, the User must not include any information in the description that could directly or indirectly identify the patient. A patient verification function enables Users to confirm the original patient identity without sharing or storing personal data on the Medcol Collaboration Platform. Users seeking diagnostic support through the Service are responsible for verifying the patient ID using the patient verification function to avoid confusion between cases. If a patient case is deemed unique, Users should exercise caution when disclosing case information that could quickly identify the patient unless the patient has granted consent to use the Service.
License
The App
Upon your acceptance and adherence to these Terms of Service, we provide you with a non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to download, install, and use the App in object code format on a mobile device that you possess or have access to exclusively for the purpose of utilizing the Service as intended.
Material uploaded to the Service.
General
Upon your acceptance and compliance with these Terms of Service, you are also granted the right to access and use the Service through the Webpage for its intended purpose. You will be granted no other license to utilize the above intellectual property rights except as explicitly stated in these Terms of Service. You are not permitted to copy or download extracts of any page of the Service unless a feature in the Service explicitly allows such copying or downloading. If you have downloaded or copied materials according to these Terms of Service, you may not modify the downloaded or copied materials, and you must not separate any images, photos, videos, or audio sequences from the text accompanying such media. The material's author must be acknowledged as required under applicable law.
Displaying material in training sessions and conferences
Materials may only be displayed during conferences, symposia, or training sessions if the patient whose case is being discussed cannot be identified or if the patient has provided consent and if the following conditions are met:
You select a limited number of key images (up to ten (10)) to disclose, and the images have been pseudonymized by being extracted as JPG or PNG exports from the platform;
You must ensure that any case information relating to a patient is not disclosed in a way that would enable the patient's identification; and
You shall ensure that it is clear that the material originates from MEDCOL - FZCO and, where applicable, which hospital initially uploaded the material to the Service.
Third-party links
Our Service may contain links to other websites and resources provided by third parties. These links are offered for your information only. Such links should not be interpreted as an endorsement by us of those linked websites or the information you may obtain from them. You acknowledge and agree that we cannot be held responsible for any third-party content provided by third parties and presented or made available within the scope of the Service.
Restrictions
We do not grant you or anyone else permission to copy or modify the App, in whole or in part. You or a third party may not develop, add to, decompile, or reverse engineer the App or its components without our consent. Recreating the source code or its functionality or making copies of the App other than as expressly permitted by mandatory law is prohibited.
You may not use the Service to disseminate viruses, trojans, or similar programs. We do not permit automatic reading of the Service.
All intellectual property rights in the App or any other part of the Service belong to or are licensed by us. Nothing in these Terms of Service shall be construed as transferring any intellectual property right or any other right to you. You are only granted the limited license described above.
Data we collect about You
To use the Service, you will need to create a user account (the "User account") and sign in to it. Instructions on how to create a User account can be found at https://medcol.io.
The email address you use to register your account will be your username, and you will need to choose a password to sign in to your user account on the Webpage and the App. If you choose to create a new user account, the username and password you select must not be: harmful, abusive, racially or ethnically offensive, sexually explicit, defamatory, infringing on any intellectual property right, or invasive of personal privacy rights.
We reserve the right to change your username if it, in our opinion, violates these Terms of Service.
When creating your user account, you will be asked to provide certain information about yourself. Please ensure you read and understand our privacy policy before using the Service. You can find the privacy policy here: https://medcol.io/privacy-policy
Your account is personal, and you may not transfer your account to any third party or allow a third party to use the Service through your user account. You are responsible for safeguarding your login information from unauthorized access. If you suspect that any third party has gained access to your user account, you must inform us immediately. We have the right, but not the obligation, to suspend access to your user account if we believe that any third party has unlawfully accessed your user account.
Please note that if your account remains inactive for 90 consecutive days, we have the right to make your account "invisible," meaning that all account information is saved, but the account is deactivated and needs to be reactivated for you to use it again. Additionally, if your user account is left inactive for 365 consecutive days, we have the right to cancel your user account permanently.
Your Use of the Service
We expect the Service to be used only for its intended purpose. Your use of the Service must align with its intended purposes, as described above. If you disagree with this, please refrain from using the Service.
As a User of the Medcol Collaboration platform, you are part of the community contributing your expertise and knowledge to the Service. As such, you will have access to shared cases that other Users share with you, and you are encouraged to participate in the data sharing and offer your professional opinion and suggestions to assist other Users in examining the data provided. You may also use the cases and data made available for your own educational purposes, such as using the data as reference cases in your own practice or educational courses and events. The data shared is to share knowledge and improve patient healthcare. While the shared data is minimized and the identity of the Data Subject is not disclosed (see the description of pseudonymization in 'The Service' above), the cases and data made available through the Medcol Collaboration platform should always be considered sensitive in nature. Any attempts by you as a User to identify the identity of an individual Patient where you are not the Case Owner/Data Controller will be considered a breach of these Terms of Service.
If you operate the Service, it is your responsibility as a user to verify if regulatory clearance from your regional health authority is needed before the Service can be used in your clinical practice. For assistance in this matter, please contact info@medcol.io
Uploading data
When uploading data related to an individual patient, the amount of data and users allowed access should always be minimal concerning the purpose of the upload. The access to case data can be limited by you as a User by choosing (I) "anyone" to be available to anyone who has been given a link, even if such person is not a registered User of the Service*, (II) "Medcol" - registered Users of the Service, (III) "Group" - only a predefined group of registered Users of the Service. The content of the uploaded data is, to the extent permitted under applicable law, the sole responsibility of the User who uploaded such material. The User must be aware that the data and material made available on the Medcol Collaboration platform are subject to the conditions of use described in the chapter 'Your Use of the Service' above.
Be advised that the option to share information with anyone with a link may result in unauthorized access or the uncontrolled spreading of information. As a User, you are responsible for the lawful processing of the data, and the Medcol Collaboration platform recommends that only Anonymous data should be shared using this option. Also, be advised that functionalities are limited, and certain features are unavailable when using this option.
It is the Users' obligation, in their role as Data Controllers for this data, to ensure that they have a legal basis for processing the data (such as the patients' consent or for aiding in setting a medical diagnosis) and must be preceded by a signed data processing agreement with Medcol Collaboration platform. All data uploaded to the platform must adhere to this requirement.
You agree and warrant that you will not distribute or upload any User-generated Material to the Services which:
is false, misleading, untruthful, or inaccurate,
promotes or encourages illegal activity,
is racially or ethnically offensive and/or constitutes agitation against a minority (such as a national or ethnic group),
constitutes defamation, contains pornography, or is in any other way sexually explicit,
attacks sexual orientation or religion or is discriminating in any other way,
constitutes insult or persecution of a person,
is in any way harmful, abusive, offensive, or illegal or which infringes the rights of any third party (such as including but not limited to copyright and trademarks), or
otherwise contradicts the Service's intended purposes.
Failure to adhere to these rules may result in the elimination of your user profile and a ban from continued use of the platform. Any illegal activities on the platform may result in legal repercussions.
Our position with regard to uploaded data
We don't tolerate inappropriate, illegal, or unethical content and reserve the right to remove such material at our discretion. If you encounter content that infringes our Terms of Service or is abusive or inappropriate, contact us at support@medcol.io
Intellectual Property Rights to uploaded material
You retain ownership of the data you upload but grant us a worldwide, perpetual, non-exclusive, and transferable right to use the data for providing and marketing our services.
Network Fees and Access
You are responsible for network access, associated costs, and hardware and software maintenance.
Disclaimer of Warranty and Limitation of Liability
Our Service is supplied "as is" with no guarantees. We shall not be held accountable for any harm resulting from your usage of the Service or any third-party claims against you.
Indemnity
You are responsible for any damages inflicted upon us or any third party due to your violation of these Terms of Service, such as, but not limited to, improper use of the Website, Application, and/or Service. Additionally, you consent to indemnify us concerning any claims, expenses (including reasonable legal fees), damages, liabilities, and losses incurred by us in relation to your breach of these Terms of Service or other relevant laws.
In the event that any User-generated Content infringes on a third party's intellectual property rights, you agree to promptly eliminate all infringing portions of the User-generated Content and indemnify us from all damages, expenses, and costs incurred by us as a result of such infringement.
Change of Terms and Termination of Services
We reserve the right to modify and update these Terms of Service. We will notify you of any such changes at least thirty (30) days before the adjustments take effect. We will send this information to the email address you have provided.
You may terminate your user account and remove your content from the Service at any time and without prior notification.
We have the authority to suspend your access to the Service immediately if we suspect you are breaching these Terms of Service. Moreover, to the extent allowed under applicable law, we reserve the right to modify, discontinue, temporarily, or permanently cease providing the Service at any time without prior notice, at our own discretion, or if mandated by law or by an authority's decision. You acknowledge that we shall not be liable to you or any third party for such modification, suspension, or discontinuation. Upon termination, you shall also, at our request, destroy or return any material downloaded or copied from the Service.
Additional Provisions
The term "included" in these Terms shall be interpreted as "including but not limited to".
You may not assign or transfer any rights, obligations, or licenses as provided in these Terms of Service. We may assign and transfer our rights under these Terms of Service without your consent and without notifying you.
Failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms of Service shall not operate as a waiver of such right or provision.
These Terms of Service operate to the fullest extent permissible by law. If any provision of these Terms of Service is deemed to be unlawful, void, or unenforceable, that provision is deemed severable from these Terms of Service and does not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions.
Annex 1 - Confidentiality Agreement
This Confidentiality Agreement (the “Agreement”) is entered into by;
MEDCOL - FZCO, company registration number DSO-FZCO-24090 having its registered address at No DSO-THUB-1-S-FLEX-103 Building Name THUB Area Name Dubai Silicon Oasis
The User (as defined in the Terms of Service).
Medcol Collaboration platform and the User are hereinafter each referred to as a "Party" and collectively as the "Parties." When either Party discloses information to the other Party under this Agreement, the disclosing Party is hereinafter referred to as the "Disclosing Party" and a Party receiving any Confidential Information hereunder as the "Receiving Party."
Preamble
The Parties have entered into an agreement regarding the provision and use of the Medcol Collaboration Platform - MEDCOL (the "Service") through which the Parties will share and be privy to information regarding medical radiology cases (the "Purpose"). To protect such information, the Parties have agreed on the following:
Confidential Information
Confidential Information refers to any information of a confidential nature made available to or by the User through the Service and shall, for the avoidance of doubt, include but not be limited to information regarding patients and any information designated by the Disclosing Party as confidential or which should otherwise reasonably be regarded as being of a confidential nature ("Confidential Information"). For the avoidance of doubt, any information posted in the Service where the post has been labeled as being available for anyone with a link to that part of the Service is not considered Confidential Information.
Confidential Information does not include information that the Receiving Party can demonstrate (a) is or becomes available to the public other than as a result of a disclosure by the Receiving Party in breach of this Agreement or any confidentiality undertaking, (b) was available to the Receiving Party on a non-confidential basis prior to its disclosure to the Receiving Party, or (c) becomes available to the Receiving Party on a non-confidential basis from a person, other than the Disclosing Party or another User, who is not known by the Receiving Party to be bound by an obligation of confidentiality to the Disclosing Party.
The Receiving Party agrees to keep secret and not disclose to any third party other than registered users of the Service, directly or indirectly, any Confidential Information and to take all reasonable measures to ensure that Confidential Information is not disclosed and only to use the Confidential Information for the Purpose. The Receiving Party undertakes to safeguard Confidential Information in a manner no less protective than with reasonable care. The obligation of confidentiality does not apply where the disclosure of Confidential Information is required by mandatory law, rule, regulation, applicable stock exchange rules, or court order, subject to what is set out in clause 2.6 below.
Medcol Collaboration platform agrees to impose on its employees and consultants, in an appropriate manner, the obligations of confidentiality as set out herein. Medcol Collaboration platform shall be liable for the actions of its employees and consultants concerning the confidentiality obligations under this Agreement.
Medcol Collaboration platform may disclose Confidential Information to its affiliates and respective employees, directors, officers, consultants, advisors, legal advisors, financial advisers, accountants, subcontractors, or sub-licensees (the "Affiliates") who have a need to know such information for the Purpose. CollabMed Platform will, however, in such a case, ensure that the Affiliates to which it discloses Confidential Information undertake to only use the Confidential Information following the Purpose of this Agreement and observe a level of confidentiality no less protective of the Confidential Information than as set out in this Agreement. Medcol Collaboration platform shall be liable for any use and/or disclosure of Confidential Information by such Affiliates.
Should the Receiving Party be under obligation to disclose Confidential Information, in accordance with what is set forth in this Agreement, the Receiving Party be obligated to disclose Confidential Information, in accordance with what is set forth in this Agreement, the Receiving Party shall, without undue delay, before any disclosure is made, inform the Disclosing Party thereof in order for the Disclosing Party to take such actions to protect the information as it may deem necessary. Any disclosure in accordance with this clause 2.6 shall be made only to the extent required. The Receiving Party further undertakes to promptly inform the Disclosing Party if it becomes aware of any unauthorized disclosure of Confidential Information and shall take all reasonable measures to prevent further disclosure.
For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in this Agreement shall affect either Party's confidentiality obligations set out in mandatory law, if any.
Ownership Rights
The Receiving Party acknowledges that any Confidential Information received shall at all times remain the property of the Disclosing Party or the user that has uploaded such information to the Service and that the Confidential Information received may not be used for any other purpose than the Purpose.
The Parties acknowledge that any Confidential Information is provided "as is" without any warranties as to its accuracy or completeness.
Duration
This Agreement shall remain valid for the same period as the agreement between the Parties regarding the Service, of which this Agreement is a part. However, the confidentiality obligations shall bind the Receiving Party from the date of disclosure of such information without limitation in time.
Additional Provisions
The Receiving Party may not assign this Agreement without the prior written consent of the Disclosing Party.
This Agreement does not and is not intended to confer any rights or remedies upon any person other than the Parties hereto.
This Agreement may only be amended by a written instrument duly signed by both Parties.
Governing Law and Arbitration
This Agreement, and any non-contractual obligation arising out of or in connection therewith, will be governed by the substantive laws of UAE.
Any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with this Agreement, or the breach, termination, or invalidity thereof, shall be finally settled by UAE courts, with the Dubai Court as the first instance, although we retain the right to bring proceedings against you in your country of residence unless otherwise provided by mandatory law.