Free DICOM image viewing and processing software for your desktop computer: what's available and what it can do for...

Whether or not a radiology department is "filmless," there is often a need to store images digitally for teaching or presentation purposes. Most computed tomographic and magnetic resonance images are in the Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) 3 format, which has many advantages; however, these files can be very large and rapidly consume storage space. Converting DICOM files to smaller file formats such as the Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) format can save space and allow insertion of images into presentations created with software such as Microsoft PowerPoint. Some picture archiving and communication systems can convert images from DICOM to other formats; however, many free options are also available. The World Wide Web was searched for free DICOM image viewing or processing software, and programs that were thought to be user-friendly and compatible with the Microsoft Windows operating systems were evaluated. There are many free programs that enable manipulation and processing of DICOM images on a desktop computer, allowing the user to easily window images and convert them to a smaller and more usable format, such as JPEG.