DCMTK - DICOM Toolkit
Description
DCMTK is a collection of libraries and applications implementing large parts the DICOM standard. It includes software for examining, constructing and converting DICOM image files, handling offline media, sending and receiving images over a network connection, as well as demonstrative image storage and worklist servers. DCMTK is is written in a mixture of ANSI C and C++. It comes in complete source code and is made available as "open source" software.
DCMTK has been used at numerous DICOM demonstrations to provide central, vendor-independent image storage and worklist servers (CTNs - Central Test Nodes). It is used by hospitals and companies all over the world for a wide variety of purposes ranging from being a tool for product testing to being a building block for research projects, prototypes and commercial products.
The DCMTK software can be compiled under Windows and a wide range of Unix operating systems including Linux, Solaris, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, MacOS X and NetBSD. All necessary configuration scripts and project makefiles are supplied.
See the documentation included with the distribution for the latest information about changes in DCMTK between releases. A summary of the highlights of the current release is available in the ANNOUNCE file. An overview of the toolkit's modules is included in the distribution's README file. The COPYRIGHT text and the history of DCMTK's development are also available online. Frequently asked questions are answered in the FAQ.
An overview of known issues and vulnerabilities in the various DCMTK releases can be found in the DCMTK Wiki on the "Known Issues" page. A complete list of known (open and resolved) issues can be found in the Bug Tracker. Please note that issues are only resolved in the latest vesion of DCMTK (i.e. the current DCMTK snapshot).
Quick installation
OS |
Package Manager |
Command |
| MacOS |
Homebrew
|
brew install dcmtk |
| Windows |
Chocolatey
|
choco install dcmtk |
| MacOS | Fink | fink install dcmtk |
| MacOS | MacPorts | port install dcmtk |
| Linux |
Debian
|
sudo apt install dcmtk |
Release Model
There are currently two different types of DCMTK releases:
| Minor Releases | A minor release marks a point in DCMTK development that we consider sufficiently stable for public use. The release process contains a feature freeze phase during which development is focused on code review and bug squashing. The main resource for measuring code stability are our nightly builds and automated test cases on the various platforms. Exhaustive, manual testing is only performed on our core platforms Windows and Linux. You can identify a minor release on its version number -- only the last digit changes. |
|---|---|
| Major Releases | Major releases are more extensively tested and validated. This is reflected in a longer feature freeze phase and more manual tests. These are also performed on more than only our core platforms. Furthermore, time is allocated to, for example, ensure compatibility with new releases of the used external libraries. |
All releases are published on this website as executable binary packages and as source code. Furthermore, the release is marked in our source code repository using the Git tag mechanism, such that you may also download it from there.
Sponsorship for a new major release
Major releases of DCMTK are published only rarely because of the significant quality assurance effort required to fulfil users' expectations of a stable release. If you would like to see a new major release including the latest DCMTK features, sponsorship for our small development team might be an option. Contact us to discuss details.
DCMTK - source code repository
You have read access to the complete source code repository of the DCMTK. Alternatively, the whole repository is mirrored to GitHub should you prefer that.
The official source code repository is actually a mirror of a private internal one. We employ our nightly builds to ensure the official repository only gets updated if DCMTK compiles on all tested platforms and the automated tests complete without errors (exceptions are possible, e.g. when bugs in external libraries result in the tests failing).
Ohloh Analysis
DCMTK 3.6.7 - source code and documentation (2022-04-28)
DCMTK can be downloaded as a gzip compressed tar archive or as a ZIP archive. The contents of the two archives are identical.
 | dcmtk-3.6.7.tar.gz 6,720K | DCMTK 3.6.7 source code and documentation |
 | dcmtk-3.6.7.zip 9,524K | DCMTK 3.6.7 source code and documentation |
The developer documentation can also be viewed online or downloaded separately.
| dcmtk-3.6.7-html-help.zip 25,144K | DCMTK 3.6.7 documentation in HTML format |
DCMTK makes use of the following external libraries for zlib compression (Deflated Transfer Syntax), character set conversion, TIFF and PNG export, as well as XML document processing.
| icu4c-71_1-src.tgz 25,100K | icu4c 71.1 source code and documentation |
| libiconv-1.16.tar.gz 5,048K | libiconv 1.16 source code and documentation |
| libpng-1.6.37.tar.gz 1,464K | libpng 1.6.37 source code and documentation |
| libxml2-v2.9.13.tar.gz 4,900K | libxml2 2.9.13 source code and documentation |
| tiff-4.3.0.tar.gz 2,744K | libtiff 4.3.0 source code and documentation |
| zlib-1.2.12.tar.gz 1,456K | zlib 1.2.12 source code and documentation |
| openjpeg-v2.4.0.tar.gz 2,184K | openjpeg 2.4.0 source code and documentation (for DCMJP2K only) |
DCMTK 3.6.7 - executable binaries
The following archives contain compiled, executable binaries of the current DCMTK release for the most popular of the supported systems. In addition to these files the source code archive is also recommended because it contains further documentation.
| dcmtk-3.6.7-win32-dynamic.zip 10,156K | DCMTK 3.6.7 for Windows (32 bit DLL build) |
| dcmtk-3.6.7-win64-dynamic.zip 11,372K | DCMTK 3.6.7 for Windows (64 bit DLL build) |
 | dcmtk-3.6.7-linux-ubuntu-22.04-x86_64.tar.bz2 65,984K | DCMTK 3.6.7 for Linux (x86_64, Ubuntu 22.04) |
| dcmtk-3.6.7-linux-ubuntu-22.04-x86_64-static.tar.bz2 738,328K | DCMTK 3.6.7 for Linux (x86_64, Ubuntu 22.04, static binaries) |
| dcmtk-3.6.7-linux-debian-11-x86_64.tar.bz2 66,036K | DCMTK 3.6.7 for Linux (x86_64, Debian 11 "bullseye") |
| dcmtk-3.6.7-linux-debian-11-x86_64-static.tar.bz2 706,560K | DCMTK 3.6.7 for Linux (x86_64, Debian 11 "bullseye", static binaries) |
DCMTK 3.6.7 - OpenSSL based security extensions
DCMTK supports some of the DICOM security extensions and relies on the free OpenSSL toolkit for the underlying cryptographic routines and the TLS protocol implementation. The following archives contain executable binaries that have been compiled and linked with OpenSSL. Only the DCMTK tools that make use of OpenSSL are included in these archives - please also download the corresponding full binary package. Please note that the use of cryptographic algorithms is affected by legislation and patent issues in many countries - you have to make sure yourself that you are allowed to use these tools before downloading them.
| dcmtk-3.6.7-win32-dynamic-tls.zip 2,292K | DCMTK 3.6.7 OpenSSL add-on for Windows (32 bit DLL build) |
| dcmtk-3.6.7-win64-dynamic-tls.zip 2,676K | DCMTK 3.6.7 OpenSSL add-on for Windows (64 bit DLL build) |
| dcmtk-3.6.7-linux-ubuntu-22.04-x86_64-tls.tar.bz2 11,292K | DCMTK 3.6.7 OpenSSL add-on for Linux (x86_64, Ubuntu 22.04) |
| dcmtk-3.6.7-linux-ubuntu-22.04-x86_64-static-tls.tar.bz2 127,736K | DCMTK 3.6.7 OpenSSL add-on for Linux (x86_64, Ubuntu 22.04, static binaries) |
| dcmtk-3.6.7-linux-debian-11-x86_64-tls.tar.bz2 11,304K | DCMTK 3.6.7 OpenSSL add-on for Linux (x86_64, Debian 11 "bullseye") |
| dcmtk-3.6.7-linux-debian-11-x86_64-static-tls.tar.bz2 119,792K | DCMTK 3.6.7 OpenSSL add-on for Linux (x86_64, Debian 11 "bullseye", static binaries) |
| openssl-1.1.1n.tar.gz 9,620K | OpenSSL 1.1.1n source code and documentation |
DCMTK 3.6.7 - support libraries for Windows
In this section we provide the external libraries that are used by DCMTK (libiconv, libicu, libpng, libxml2, libtiff, openssl, and zlib) for the current DCMTK release 3.6.7 in pre-compiled format for Windows. The archives contain include files as well as debug and release versions of the corresponding libraries.
All support libraries included are available either compiled with "Multithreaded" runtime options (/MT and /MTd) or with "Multithreaded DLL" runtime options (/MD and /MDd). Please specify the include paths in CMake accordingly.
| dcmtk-3.6.7-win32-support-MD-iconv-msvc-15.9.zip 11,460K | Pre-compiled libraries for Visual Studio 2017 (MSVC 15.9), 32 bit, with libiconv, with "MD" option |
| dcmtk-3.6.7-win32-support-MD-icu-msvc-15.9.zip 64,556K | Pre-compiled libraries for Visual Studio 2017 (MSVC 15.9), 32 bit, with icu4c, with "MD" option |
| dcmtk-3.6.7-win32-support-MT-iconv-msvc-15.9.zip 11,440K | Pre-compiled libraries for Visual Studio 2017 (MSVC 15.9), 32 bit, with libiconv, with "MT" option |
| dcmtk-3.6.7-win32-support-MT-icu-msvc-15.9.zip 68,424K | Pre-compiled libraries for Visual Studio 2017 (MSVC 15.9), 32 bit, with icu4c, with "MT" option |
| dcmtk-3.6.7-win64-support-MD-iconv-msvc-15.9.zip 12,688K | Pre-compiled libraries for Visual Studio 2017 (MSVC 15.9), 64 bit, with libiconv, with "MD" option |
| dcmtk-3.6.7-win64-support-MD-icu-msvc-15.9.zip 66,260K | Pre-compiled libraries for Visual Studio 2017 (MSVC 15.9), 64 bit, with icu4c, with "MD" option |
| dcmtk-3.6.7-win64-support-MT-iconv-msvc-15.9.zip 12,668K | Pre-compiled libraries for Visual Studio 2017 (MSVC 15.9), 64 bit, with libiconv, with "MT" option |
| dcmtk-3.6.7-win64-support-MT-icu-msvc-15.9.zip 70,684K | Pre-compiled libraries for Visual Studio 2017 (MSVC 15.9), 64 bit, with icu4c, with "MT" option |
| dcmtk-3.6.7-win32-support-MD-iconv-msvc-16.9.zip 11,432K | Pre-compiled libraries for Visual Studio 2019 (MSVC 16.9), 32 bit, with libiconv, with "MD" option |
| dcmtk-3.6.7-win32-support-MD-icu-msvc-16.9.zip 64,792K | Pre-compiled libraries for Visual Studio 2019 (MSVC 16.9), 32 bit, with icu4c, with "MD" option |
| dcmtk-3.6.7-win32-support-MT-iconv-msvc-16.9.zip 11,400K | Pre-compiled libraries for Visual Studio 2019 (MSVC 16.9), 32 bit, with libiconv, with "MT" option |
| dcmtk-3.6.7-win32-support-MT-icu-msvc-16.9.zip 68,176K | Pre-compiled libraries for Visual Studio 2019 (MSVC 16.9), 32 bit, with icu4c, with "MT" option |
| dcmtk-3.6.7-win64-support-MD-iconv-msvc-16.9.zip 12,692K | Pre-compiled libraries for Visual Studio 2019 (MSVC 16.9), 64 bit, with libiconv, with "MD" option |
| dcmtk-3.6.7-win64-support-MD-icu-msvc-16.9.zip 66,384K | Pre-compiled libraries for Visual Studio 2019 (MSVC 16.9), 64 bit, with icu4c, with "MD" option |
| dcmtk-3.6.7-win64-support-MT-iconv-msvc-16.9.zip 12,676K | Pre-compiled libraries for Visual Studio 2019 (MSVC 16.9), 64 bit, with libiconv, with "MT" option |
| dcmtk-3.6.7-win64-support-MT-icu-msvc-16.9.zip 70,272K | Pre-compiled libraries for Visual Studio 2019 (MSVC 16.9), 64 bit, with icu4c, with "MT" option |
| dcmtk-3.6.7-win32-support-MD-iconv-msvc-17.0.zip 12,176K | Pre-compiled libraries for Visual Studio 2022 (MSVC 17.0), 32 bit, with libiconv, with "MD" option |
| dcmtk-3.6.7-win32-support-MD-icu-msvc-17.0.zip 65,548K | Pre-compiled libraries for Visual Studio 2022 (MSVC 17.0), 32 bit, with icu4c, with "MD" option |
| dcmtk-3.6.7-win32-support-MT-iconv-msvc-17.0.zip 12,152K | Pre-compiled libraries for Visual Studio 2022 (MSVC 17.0), 32 bit, with libiconv, with "MT" option |
| dcmtk-3.6.7-win32-support-MT-icu-msvc-17.0.zip 68,932K | Pre-compiled libraries for Visual Studio 2022 (MSVC 17.0), 32 bit, with icu4c, with "MT" option |
| dcmtk-3.6.7-win64-support-MD-iconv-msvc-17.0.zip 13,444K | Pre-compiled libraries for Visual Studio 2022 (MSVC 17.0), 64 bit, with libiconv, with "MD" option |
| dcmtk-3.6.7-win64-support-MD-icu-msvc-17.0.zip 67,148K | Pre-compiled libraries for Visual Studio 2022 (MSVC 17.0), 64 bit, with icu4c, with "MD" option |
| dcmtk-3.6.7-win64-support-MT-iconv-msvc-17.0.zip 13,424K | Pre-compiled libraries for Visual Studio 2022 (MSVC 17.0), 64 bit, with libiconv, with "MT" option |
| dcmtk-3.6.7-win64-support-MT-icu-msvc-17.0.zip 71,024K | Pre-compiled libraries for Visual Studio 2022 (MSVC 17.0), 64 bit, with icu4c, with "MT" option |
DCMTK - old versions
Old versions of the DCMTK are still available for download via ftp or http.
DCMTK - user contributions
The following tools and software packages have been contributed by DCMTK users. Any use of these applications is (of course) at your own risk.
 | MacStoreSCU-330d1.PPC.hqx 347K | StoreSCU for MacOS on PowerPC, based on DCMTK 3.3.0, by Arnaud Masson |
| dcmtk-3.6.0-openindiana.tar.bz2 38,142K | DCMTK 3.6.0 for OpenIndiana, by Paolo Marcheschi |
| dcmtk-3.6.1_20120831-openindiana64.pkg.tar.bz2 76,687K | DCMTK 3.6.1 Snapshot (20120831) for OpenIndiana (64 bit), by Paolo Marcheschi |
| dcmtk-3.6.1_20120831-solaris32.pkg.bz2 63,187K | DCMTK 3.6.1 Snapshot (20120831) for Solaris 10 (32 bit), by Paolo Marcheschi |
 | dcmtk_macosx | Fink packages of DCMTK for MacOS X |
| dcmtk_debian | DCMTK for Debian Linux, by Pablo Sau, Jürgen Salk, Andreas Tille and Mathieu Malaterre |
| dcmtk_rpm | RPM packages of DCMTK, by Andy Loening and others |
| dcmtk_mandriva | RPM packages of DCMTK 3.5.4 for Mandriva Linux, by Marc Cals |
| dcmtk_opensuse | DCMTK for CentOS, Fedora, Mandriva and openSUSE Linux |
| dcmtk_freebsd | DCMTK for FreeBSD |
