Decoding DICOM Images: Understanding the Dimensions — 2D, 3D, or Both?
DICOM can be looked at in two ways, either flat or 3D. But usually, it is like a flat picture showing only one slice of the inside of the body from an MRI or CT scan.
To make DICOM images more accessible, there is a DICOM LE viewer online available that allows doctors to view and analyze them in a more user-friendly way.
This article will explain what kind of pictures they are and how doctors use them to help people feel better.
2D DICOM Images
A 2D DICOM image is a special kind of picture that shows a tiny part of the inside of our body, like a slice. It is like taking a picture of our insides instead of our outsides.
This picture is made of many small squares called pixels, which can be different colors and shades of gray. Doctors use these pictures to look closely at one part of our body to see if anything is wrong.
These pictures are often used in different parts of medicine, like looking at our hearts, bones, or organs.
Advantages and Limitations of 2D DICOM Images
Advantages:
● 2D DICOM pictures show one tiny part of our insides very clearly, which helps doctors find any problems in that area.
● These pictures are easy to save, share, and send between doctors and hospitals.
● 2D is also cheaper than other kinds of pictures, like 3D images.
Limitations:
● 2D DICOM images only show one small slice of our insides, so sometimes doctors need to look at more pictures to understand the whole area.
● It can be hard for doctors to read the pictures correctly, so they need to have a lot of experience and skill.
● Sometimes, the pictures are not clear enough to see what is wrong, so doctors need to use other kinds of pictures.
3D DICOM Images
A 3D DICOM image is a special kind of picture that shows what the inside of the body looks like in 3D. It’s made by taking many pictures of different body parts from different angles, then putting them together like a puzzle to make a 3D model.
Doctors can move the 3D model around and look at it from different angles to help them understand how different body parts are connected. They often use 3D DICOM images to plan surgeries so they can do the best job possible.
Advantages and Limitations of 3D DICOM Images
Advantages:
● 3D DICOM images show doctors more details and different angles of the inside of the body to help plan surgeries and treatments.
● The images can be rotated and viewed from different angles, which can help doctors understand how different parts of the body are connected.
● They are also helpful for explaining things to patients in a way they can understand.
Limitations:
● Creating 3D DICOM images takes a long time and can be very expensive.
● Not all hospitals have the equipment and skills to make 3D images.
● Sometimes, 3D images aren’t needed or don’t give more helpful information than 2D images.
Converting 2D DICOM Images into 3D Models
To turn 2D DICOM images into 3D models, you need special computer programs, or if you want just to view them, there are DICOM LE viewers online available. Here are the basic steps:
● Collect multiple 2D DICOM images of the area you want to study.
● Use the special software to examine and line up the images correctly.
● Use the software to build a 3D digital model of the area of interest by stacking the 2D images together.
Use the software to perfect and fine-tune the 3D model as necessary.