So Kert linked me to a cool MRI site the other day featuring cross-section views of the insides of various fruits and veggies. The author posted a bunch of DICOM files (the files right out of the MRI machine) and I grabbed them to play around with the layers. Turns out Photoshop will open a DICOM file and let you see all the cross sections.
So then I started (obviously) writing a tool to see if I could re-construct the scanned broccoli by stacking the slices in volumetric layers – and it turns out that yes, I could. But then I found out that Photoshop can also do it. 
Lame. As soon as you don’t need to write custom software to do something, that idea is officially no longer cool. 
(My version had extra features, though… and I intend to add some proper shading.)
(Edit: Sorry about the big file size – compressed it down a little)
2 responses so far ↓
1 Kert Gartner // Jul 21, 2010 at 2:58 pm
Uh, what? Photoshop will make a 3D model out of these files???
2 jcobill // Jul 22, 2010 at 7:44 am
Yes! If you import the Dicom file (just drag the really big file into photoshop) you’ll get a preview of all the slices – if you select all & “Import As Volume” it imports stacked slices you can manipulate with the CS4 3D tools. If you right-click the 3D Layer it generates, you can modify some simple render settings, enhancing edges and changing opacity.
Fun for all ages!
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