DICOM / PACS viewing software - Radiology Cafe (2024)

Please note: There are many free DICOM viewers online, however many lack the core functionality required by a radiologist for reviewing studies and/or teaching. All software on this page has been downloaded / tested by a consultant radiologist and thought to represent the best currently available online. This page is updated regularly.

A popular software for radiologists working in the UK is currently a programme called ‘Horos‘. This is a free open source version of the software used by the Royal College of Radiologists for the viva part of the Final FRCR 2B exam, so obviously it makes sense to use it for teaching as well. This programme is only available on Apple computers, hence why so many radiologists own MacBooks.

There is a paid version of Horos called ‘OsiriX MD’, which is produced by Pixmeo, however it is expensive so not ideal for basic teaching purposes, although has great functionality. Pixemo also produce a free demo version called ‘OsiriX Lite’, however there are major limitations placed on this including pop-ups asking you to upgrade to the paid version, performance restrictions, image viewing restrictions and inability to edit the meta-data attached to DICOM images – for example you can’t easily re-order series within a study, which may be important if you are preparing cases for teaching or examinations. It is for these reasons that we do not list OsiriX Lite in our recommendations.

• Intuitive user interface and customisable toolbars
• 64-bit
• Advanced manipulation and measurement tools
• Multi-planar reconstruction (MPR) with thick slab (Mean, MIP, Volume Rendering)
• 3D MIP, 3D Volume rendering, 3D surface rendering
• Image fusion for PET-CT & SPECT-CT
• Reads and displays all DICOM files
• DICOM Editing
• OsiriX migration assistant
• Separate iOS app to view DICOM on mobile devices (requires iOS 13.0 or later)
• more feature details…

• OS: MacOS 10.11 or later

Horos should run on any Mac brought within the last 3 years.

Why we like it

We really like Horos as it is a free open source version of the same software as that used by The Royal College of Radiologists for the viva part of the final FRCR (Part B) exam. Becoming familiar with Horos will help radiology trainees when preparing for this exam. Horos is easy to use and as a full 64-bit medical image viewer for Mac there is a huge amount of functionality contained within. It is updated regularly. We believe Horos is the best free DICOM viewer for Apple MacOS.

Interestingly, Horos is named after the Egyptian god Horus, son of Osiris and Isis. Horos is a based on OsiriX (a similar paid-for medical viewer), named after Osiris. The developers obviously appreciate Egyptian and greek mythology!

Visit the Horos website to download the Horos DICOM viewer!

• Display large range of DICOM files (including multi-frame, enhanced, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, MIME Encapsulation, SR, PR, KOS, AU, RT and ECG)
• Viewer for common image formats (TIFF, BMP, GIF, JPEG, PNG, RAS, HDR, and PNM)
• Image manipulation (pan, zoom, windowing, presets, rotation, flip, scroll, crosshair, filtering…)
• Layouts for comparing series or studies and displaying cross-lines
• Advanced series synchronization options
• Support of Modality LUTs, VOI LUTs, and Presentation LUTs (even non-linear)
• Support of several screens with different calibration, support of HiDPI (High Dots Per Inch) monitors, full-screen mode
• Multiplanar reconstructions and MIP
• Display Structured Reports
• Display and search all DICOM attributes
• Measurement and annotation tools
• Region statistics of pixels (Min, Max, Mean, StDev, Skewness, Kurtosis, Entropy)
• Histogram of modality values
• SUV measurement
• DICOM Send (storeSCU and STOW-RS)
• DICOM Query/Retrieve (C-GET, C-MOVE and WADO-URI) and DICOMWeb (QUERY and RETRIEVE)
• Save measurements and annotations in DICOM PR or XML file
• Import CD/DVD and local DICOM files
• Export DICOM with several options (DICOMDIR, ZIP, ISO image file with Weasis, generate new UIDs, transcoding, TIFF, JPEG, PNG…)
• Magnifier glass with advanced display options
• Native and DICOM printing
• Dicomizer module to convert standard images into DICOM
• more feature details…

• OS:Mac OS
• Architecture: X86 64-bit

WEASIS should run on any Mac brought within the last 3 years.

Why we like it

We like WEASIS as it is powerful, opensource and cross-platform DICOM viewer. It is easy to use with many functionalities and can provide web-based access to radiological images.

Visit the WEASIS website to download the WEASIS DICOM viewer!

• Display large range of DICOM files (including multi-frame, enhanced, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, MIME Encapsulation, SR, PR, KOS, AU, RT and ECG)
• Viewer for common image formats (TIFF, BMP, GIF, JPEG, PNG, RAS, HDR, and PNM)
• Image manipulation (pan, zoom, windowing, presets, rotation, flip, scroll, crosshair, filtering…)
• Layouts for comparing series or studies and displaying cross-lines
• Advanced series synchronization options
• Support of Modality LUTs, VOI LUTs, and Presentation LUTs (even non-linear)
• Support of several screens with different calibration, support of HiDPI (High Dots Per Inch) monitors, full-screen mode
• Multiplanar reconstructions and MIP
• Display Structured Reports
• Display and search all DICOM attributes
• Measurement and annotation tools
• Region statistics of pixels (Min, Max, Mean, StDev, Skewness, Kurtosis, Entropy)
• Histogram of modality values
• SUV measurement
• DICOM Send (storeSCU and STOW-RS)
• DICOM Query/Retrieve (C-GET, C-MOVE and WADO-URI) and DICOMWeb (QUERY and RETRIEVE)
• Save measurements and annotations in DICOM PR or XML file
• Import CD/DVD and local DICOM files
• Export DICOM with several options (DICOMDIR, ZIP, ISO image file with Weasis, generate new UIDs, transcoding, TIFF, JPEG, PNG…)
• Magnifier glass with advanced display options
• Native and DICOM printing
• Dicomizer module to convert standard images into DICOM
• more feature details…

• OS: Windows 10/11
• Architecture: X86 64-bit

Why we like it

We like WEASIS as it is powerful, opensource and cross-platform DICOM viewer. It is easy to use with many functionalities and can provide web-based access to radiological images.

Visit the WEASIS website to download the WEASIS DICOM viewer!

• Simple and intuitive interface with full-screen mode
• Standard manipulation and measurement tools
• Browse several series concurrently in multiple windows with automatic synchronization between series and cross reference lines in series with different image planes
• Display of dynamic sequences/series (CINE)
• Multiplanar Reconstruction (MPR)
• Fusion of series with different modalities (e.g. PET-CT) or different protocols (e.g. MRI T1/T2–DWI)
• Huge range of DICOM file types supported and support for DICOM overlays
• Export DICOM files to JPEG, BMP and WMV.
• Copy and paste directly into Word or PowerPoint documents
• Read DICOM studies from CD/DVD/BluRay disks and local or network folders
• Asynchronous reading (browse images while they are being opened)
• Multi-core and multi-processor support, and advanced memory management system which facilitates concurrent opening of studies with thousands of images
• Multi-touch support for touchscreen devices
• Universal installer (32 and 64-bit)
• Multilingual interface (>20 languages)
• Multi-touch support
• more feature details…

• OS: Windows 10/8.1/8/7
• Processor: Intel or AMD 1GHz or faster (3GHz or faster with four or more cores recommended)
• Memory:1GB of RAM (4GB+ recommended)
• Hard Disk Space: 10MB of available hard-disk space for installation; additional free space required for image caching
• Screen Resolution: 1024×768 minimum

Why we like it

We like RadiAnt as it is free, simple, easy to use and very fast. The one negative aspect is the slow start-up time unless you pay to upgrade. The application is small and can even run directly from a USB stick which can be handy. This basic DICOM viever does all the things you would expect and is perfect for revision purposes for radiology trainees.

Visit the RadiAnt website to download the RadiAnt DICOM viewer!

• Drag and drop upload, store and view DICOM imaging
• Multi-platform (Windows, MacOS, Linux, IOS, and Android) support and mobile friendly
• One click anonymization of DICOM images
• Annotate, share, post and embed images in a simple viewer
• Very simple and easy to use (no VPN, retrieving archived images etc)
• Download the anonymised full quality DICOM files at any time
• Cross-reference lines for comparable imaging
• Standard measurement tools
• Enter custom descriptions to cases
• Generate links to share studies with anyone
• more feature details…

• The following operating systems and internet browsers are supported:
  • Windows: Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox
  • Mac OS: Apple Safari, Google Chrome
  • Linux: Google Chrome
  • iOS: Apple Safari, Google Chrome
  • Android: Google Chrome

Why we like it

We really like the simplicity of Pacsbin. It is fantastic for teaching as it is so quick and easy to use. All images are automatically anonymized when uploaded.You can share your cases or groups of cases to anyone via a link without them having to login.It is free for up to 20 cases, easy to use and fast. As it is cloud based, you can access it on pretty much any device. Anyone can use the service.

Visit the Pacsbin website to use the Pacsbin Radiology viewer!

• Unlimited cloud storage space to store medical images
• Multi-platform (Windows, MacOS, Linux, IOS, and Android) Support
• Upload, store and view DICOM files
• Fast Cloud DICOM imaging loading
• Automatic synchronization of compatible series with showing cross-reference lines
• Standard measurement tools
• Multiplanar Reconstruction (MPR)
• View DICOM metadata
• Share, tag and comment on cases with other professionals
• Enter custom descriptions to cases
• WebGL browser rendering
• PACS integration using the Collective Minds® Proxy
• One click case upload using the Collective Minds® Proxy more feature details…

• The following operating systems and internet browsers are supported:
  • Windows: Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox
  • Mac OS: Apple Safari, Google Chrome
  • Linux: Google Chrome
  • iOS: Apple Safari, Google Chrome
  • Android: Google Chrome

Why we like it

We like Collective Minds Radiology as it is a bit different to other sites. It’s a radiology collaboration service and centered around sharing cases with other professionals for expertise, advice or teaching. It is free with unlimited storage, easy to use and fast. As it is cloud based, you can access it on pretty much any device. The service is restricted to medical professionals and sharing can be applied to specific groups within the website e.g. your hospital community. The ability for users to comment and tag images is particularly unique and great for learning and teaching.

Visit the Collective Minds website to use the Collective Minds Radiology viewer!