Converting Pictures into Images

The Picture Converter allows the conversion of pictures (such as JPEGs, GIFs etc.) into one of the supported multi-slice image formats.

To convert pictures, select Picture Converter ... from the File menu: The Picture Converter menu item.

The Picture Converter window will now appear:

The Picture Converter dialog

The Picture Converter allows you to create one single-slice or multi-slice image from one or more picture files. Each of the pictures normally contains pixel values for one slice of the output image. In the case of multi-frame formats, such as GIF, the picture may contain more than one slice.

If you want to stack all selected pictures into one multi-slice output image, select:

Select to stack multiple pictures into one image

Otherwise, all pictures will be converted to the selected format individually. If you select this option, all input pictures must be the same size (same number of samples in the horizontal and vertical directions), otherwise an error message will pop up.

Next, tell the Picture Converter the pixel dimensions, in mm. Specify:

  • The pixel sizes, either by setting the field of view:

Setting the field-of-view to determine the pixel size

or the pixel sizes directly:

Setting the raw pixel sizes

In this example Jim is being told either that pixels are 0.96 mm square, or that the field of view is 250 mm square.

  • The slice thickness.

Setting the slice thickness in the Picture Converter

Now:

  • Choose the format of the image to be created (NIFTI-1, NIFTI-2, AnalyzeTM, DICOM or UNC).
  • Specify the title of the image (not the file name). The title you supply will be truncated if it is too long for the output file format. Supplying a title is optional.
  • Finally tell the Picture Converter what imaging plane your data is most like (Axial, Sagittal or Coronal). If you don't know, don't care, or there are various imaging planes in the data, leave this as "Unknown".

When ready, press the Convert the pictures button to begin conversion of your picture files.

Depending on whether your selection Load or save the resulting image, the converted image will either be loaded into Jim, or the picture(s) will be saved to disk in the same folder as the input picture(s), but in the selected multi-slice medical image format. If you selected Select to stack multiple pictures into one image, all pictures will be stacked in 3-D and a single output image will be created. The name of the output image will be taken from the name of the first input picture. If not selected, each picture is converted to the multi-slice medical image format individually.

Click the Button to finish with the Picture Converter tool button when you have finished with the Picture Converter.