How to Convert .mhd + .raw 3D Time-Series Images into a 4D DICOM in 3D Slicer?

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Hi,

I am working with publicly available 3D echocardiographic datasets stored as .mhd + .raw files, along with corresponding .vtk mesh files for each time frame. I would like to convert these into a single 4D DICOM (cine loop of 3D volumes).

My ultimate goal is to process these datasets in Philips’ ultrasound workspace, which only accepts DICOM/DICOMDIR formats. From what I understand, there are two main steps involved:

  1. Combining all time steps into a single patient/study dataset.

  2. Exporting the result as a single 4D DICOM.

Can this workflow be achieved in 3D Slicer? If so, I would greatly appreciate any guidance on how to proceed.

The public datasets can be accessed here: Human Heart Project Dataset

Any advice is welcome!

Thank you,
Satya

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In theory, you can store 3D+t echo data in DICOM, but unfortunately, no 3D ultrasound vendors have implemented it. Instead, all of them store 3D+t ultrasound data in private attributes in proprietary format. If you generate 3D+t ultrasound in standard DICOM format, you will not be able to load it into the Philips software.

Probably SlicerHeart is your best bet if you want to process multimodality cardiac data. It has lots of analysis and visualization tools; and if something is missing then it can be added, as it is all open-source.