Which statement about viewing DICOM images is true?

• A. A DICOM viewer is not required; any standard image viewer suffices
• B. DICOM images can be viewed with any app that supports text files
• C. DICOM requires specialized hardware for viewing
• D. A DICOM viewer is needed

Answer: (D)

DICOM files are not ordinary image files; they combine image data with patient and study metadata in a medical imaging standard. A DICOM viewer is designed to parse that format, correctly render the image with proper windowing and orientation, and display the accompanying metadata and study information. Standard image applications don’t understand the DICOM headers, multiple frames, or medical-specific compression, so they can’t reliably show the image or reveal the clinical context. You don’t need special hardware—any regular computer or device can view DICOM images as long as you have a DICOM viewer installed. This is why having a DICOM viewer is the correct approach for viewing these files.