How to share a DICOM scan for a second opinion

October 25, 2026

To share a scan for a second opinion, send the whole study as it was exported, not screenshots. Put the study folder in a zip file, and ask the receiving clinic how it wants to receive it. The clinic may have its own upload portal or format.

A second opinion is a medical matter, so the clinic and your own doctor decide what is needed. This post covers only how to move the files.

Why screenshots are not enough

A screenshot or a photo of a screen is a flat picture. It loses most of what the original has:

Only one slice or view is captured, while a study can hold hundreds.
The original resolution and grey levels are reduced.
The tags that describe the scan are gone.
The clinic cannot scroll, adjust brightness or measure.

Clinics can work with the original DICOM files in their own software, but not with a screenshot.

What to send

Send the complete study, in the same folder structure it came in.

From a CD or DVD. Copy everything on the disc, not only the images. That means the DICOMDIR index and any folders with images. Many discs also include a small viewer program, so keep that too. See DICOMDIR explained.
From a download link. Keep the downloaded zip, or the extracted folder, as received.
From a phone or computer. Copy the whole study folder, with its subfolders.

Do not rename files or pick out the images you think matter. Files without extensions are normal, and they must be kept.

How to zip it

Large studies are many files. Zipping them gives you one file to send and keeps the folder structure together.

Put the whole study in a single folder.
On a computer, right-click the folder and choose to compress or send to a zip file. On Android, most file managers can create a zip from a selected folder.
Check the zip size. A CT or MRI study can be hundreds of megabytes.
Open the zip once to confirm the folders are inside.

Email attachments are often limited to 20 to 25 MB, so a study usually needs another route, such as a link or the clinic’s portal.

Ask the clinic first

Before sending, ask the receiving clinic or doctor how they want the files. Typical answers:

a link to their secure upload portal
a zip sent through a file transfer service they name
a disc posted or handed over
a request to go through your current hospital, which can send it directly

Each clinic has its own process, and some will not accept files sent by email or chat for confidentiality reasons. Asking first saves time and avoids resending.

Also ask which parts they need. Some want only the latest study, others also want earlier ones, and they may ask for the written report as well.

Patient information and editing files

A DICOM file contains your name, birth date and ID inside it, not only in the file name. See DICOM tags and metadata. For most second opinions, the clinic needs this information to match the scan to you and your records, so removing it can cause problems.

Some people consider removing identifiers before sharing. Only do this if the recipient does not need them. Editing files can also make them unusable for clinical work, because tags may be changed in ways that break the study. If you are thinking about it, ask the clinic first and let them tell you what is acceptable. Do not edit files and send them without telling the recipient that you did.

Check the files before you send

Open the study yourself first, so you know the copy is complete. A viewer on your phone can confirm that the folder opens and the series scroll as they should. Radix DICOM opens whole patient-CD folders, including nested subfolders and files with no extension, and it is an Android app. If something fails, see why a DICOM file will not open. Use it only to confirm the files are intact. It is not a medical device, and it does not replace the doctor’s review.

If you need to read a disc on a phone first, see open a DICOM CD on your phone.

Keep your own copy

Keep the original disc or folder. Do not delete anything after sending. Clinics sometimes ask for a second export, and the original is the safest source. If you used a temporary link or a transfer service, remove the shared copy once the clinic confirms that it has received everything. For how apps handle your files, see DICOM viewer privacy.