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Guide

How to open your MRI CD

After an MRI you usually get a CD with hundreds of images. Here is what is on it, why it won’t open with a double click, and how to view it in a few minutes with nothing to install.

What is on the CD

The images are in DICOM, the standard format for medical images. On the disc you will usually find a folder with the images (often called DICOM), a DICOMDIR file, which is the disc’s table of contents, and often a viewer program the clinic added.

DICOM files often have names without an extension, such as IM000001, and computers have no built-in program for them, so they won’t open with a double click like an ordinary photo.

Why the program on the CD won’t start

The program on the disc is usually made for Windows only, so it won’t start on a Mac. On Windows it may not start by itself because autoplay is turned off, and some programs ask for administrator rights or are blocked by the antivirus.

Open it in your browser, with Remene

Remene opens the images right in your browser, on Windows or Mac, with no program to install:

  • Put the CD in your computer and open it in File Explorer on Windows or Finder on a Mac.
  • Copy the folder with the images, often called DICOM, to your desktop. If you are not sure which one it is, copy everything on the disc into a new folder.
  • Go to Remene, create an account and drag the folder onto the upload page. You can also upload a ZIP archive of it. Before processing, we remove your name and other identifying details from the files.
  • The images are usually ready in a few minutes, and viewing them is free: you scroll slice by slice, change the contrast and zoom in.

If you don’t have a CD drive

Many laptops no longer have a CD drive. You can use an external USB CD drive, or ask the clinic to copy the images onto a USB stick.

Some clinics also give you a download link. If it downloads a ZIP archive, upload it as it is; if your browser has already unzipped it into a folder (Safari on a Mac does this), upload that folder. If the link only shows the images on a web page, ask the clinic for the original DICOM files.

If Remene can’t find the images

Check that you chose the folder with the images, not just the viewer program. If it still doesn’t work, copy everything on the disc into a folder and upload that folder.

If that doesn’t help, write to us with the device and browser you use, without sending images or medical details.

Once you can see the images

If you also want to understand them, one payment per study unlocks the analysis, the report explanation, the chat and the document for your doctor.

For the words in your report, read our MRI glossary.