DICOM
(Created page with "{| |File Formats | > |Electronic File Formats | > |Scientific Data formats | > |DICOM |} {{FormatInfo |subcat=Scientific Data formats |extensions={{ext|dcm, o...") |
Dan Tobias (Talk | contribs) (fix ext template) |
||
| Line 11: | Line 11: | ||
{{FormatInfo | {{FormatInfo | ||
|subcat=Scientific Data formats | |subcat=Scientific Data formats | ||
| − | |extensions={{ext|dcm | + | |extensions={{ext|dcm}}, others |
}} | }} | ||
Revision as of 03:10, 14 November 2012
| File Formats | > | Electronic File Formats | > | Scientific Data formats | > | DICOM |
General description
DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine) is far and away the most widely-used (and probably the oldest) electronic file format in medical imaging. Nearly every device that acquires medical images -- ultrasound, CT, PET, and MRI -- acquire DICOM images in normal operation. There's a 20-part specification detailing the file format and its ecosystem. The IANA has assigned TCP and UDP port 104 to DICOM-related traffic.
It's kind of a big deal.
However, as with any sufficiently-adopted standard, there are splinter factions. The most common format is 2-dimensional images or "slices" that can be formed into a 3-dimensional image; however, some manufacturers have extended the standard to save 3 or even 4-dimensional images in a "mosaic" format.
Software
Software that reads DICOM files is pretty much everywhere. Most neuroimaging analysis packages have some way of importing DICOMs and turning them in to a higher-dimensional file; open-source stand-alone libraries abound, as well:
