Updated October 24, 2026
You can open DICOM files on Windows without installing a viewer. Open this page in Chrome, Edge or Firefox, click Open a disc or folder… or Open files or a ZIP…, and the images open in the browser tab — free, with nothing uploaded.
How do I open a hospital disc on Windows?
- Insert the disc. If Windows starts the disc's own viewer program, close it.
- Click Open a disc or folder…. In the dialog, choose the DVD drive under This PC.
- Don't pick DICOMDIR or the .exe on their own. MesDICOM reads the images on the disc.
If the browser won't let you choose the drive itself, open the disc in File Explorer, copy everything on it to a folder, and choose that folder instead. You can also drag the disc's folders from File Explorer onto this page. More: opening a CT or MRI disc.
Why use a browser instead of a Windows program?
- No installer, no admin rights. Useful on a work PC, a shared family computer or a library computer.
- You decide what is kept. A study stays in your library only if you choose Save to Library, and Remove All Studies in Settings clears them.
- No viewer program from the disc. The programs on hospital discs are often old, and you don't need them.
- The same on every computer. The same viewer opens the same disc on Windows, Mac, Linux and ChromeOS.
What can it do?
Scroll through series, adjust brightness and contrast with 30 window presets, zoom, rotate and flip, measure lengths and angles, play cine, see a CT or MR series in three planes and in 3D, read every DICOM tag, and save an image as a PNG.
How does it compare with Windows DICOM programs?
- MicroDicom is a Windows program, free for non-commercial use; commercial use needs a paid licence.
- RadiAnt DICOM Viewer is a commercial Windows program.
- Weasis is free and open source and runs on Windows, macOS and Linux.
These are installed programs with more tools for people who read images every day. MesDICOM on the web is for opening your own scans quickly, without installing anything.
MesDICOM is for viewing and reference only — not intended for diagnosis or treatment decisions.