Convert a binary DICOM file

Binary DICOM files can be converted to their JSON or XML representation or recoded using another transfer syntax using odil transcode.

Convert to JSON

Specify -f json to convert to JSON:

$ odil transcode -f json file.dcm /dev/stdout
{ "00080005":{"Value":["ISO_IR 100"],"vr":"CS"}, ... }

If the output is to be read by a human being, the condensed format is not appropriate, and the result can be pretty-printed using the -p flag:

$ odil transcode -f json -p file.dcm /dev/stdout
{
  "00080005" : {
    "Value" : [ "ISO_IR 100" ],
    "vr" : "CS"
  },
  ...
  "00080016" : {
    "Value" : [ "1.2.840.10008.5.1.4.1.1.4" ],
    "vr" : "UI"
  },
  ...
}

Convert to XML

Similarly, specify -f xml to convert to XML, with optional pretty-printing with the -p flag:

$ odil transcode -f xml -p file.dcm /dev/stdout
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<NativeDicomModel>
  <DicomAttribute vr="CS" tag="00080005" keyword="SpecificCharacterSet">
    <Value number="1">ISO_IR 100</Value>
  </DicomAttribute>
  ...
  <DicomAttribute vr="UI" tag="00080016" keyword="SOPClassUID">
    <Value number="1">1.2.840.10008.5.1.4.1.1.4</Value>
  </DicomAttribute>
  ...
</NativeDicomModel>

Change the transfer syntax

The transfer syntax of a file can also be changed through the -t flag with a transfer syntax name:

$ odil transcode -t ExplicitVRLittleEndian input.dcm output.dcm
$ odil print -H -u output.dcm | grep "Transfer Syntax"
Transfer Syntax UID  0002,0010 UI ['Explicit VR Little Endian']