Process to Import an STL File and Convert/Export a Series of DICOM Files?

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@cpinter this is very useful advice.

My only comment would be that @aleesdesigner probably needs to design something around the patient’s bone/tissue geometry so would need to export the file at step 2 in order to load it into Solidworks.

If I am interpreting your need correctly, my suggestion would be:

  1. Import DICOM data from a patient CT scan into Slicer.
  2. Export patient 3D volume to STL file.
  3. Import patient STL into Solidworks and create a 3D component in SolidWorks WITHOUT moving the location of the patient STL file in 3D space in Solidworks.
  4. Export 3D component from SolidWorks to STL file.
  5. Import the 3D component STL from Solidworks into Slicer. As long as you have not changed the coordinate system in Solidworks then it should appear in exactly the right place on the patient’s bone/tissue in slicer.
  6. Go to Segmentations module (not segment editor). Select the segmentation node which you used to originally segment the patient’s bone/tissue. Go to Import/Export models and labelmaps area and import the model into the segmentation node.
  7. Go to segment editor, click on you original patient bone/tissue segment and then click the logical operators effect. Select Add and add the solidworks model segment to the original segment. (Instead of using meshmixer)
  8. Go back to the segmentations module, click on the newly combined segment and using the same Import/Export area export the segment as a label map.
  9. Go to the volumes module and convert the new label map to a scalar volume.
  10. Go to data module and right click on the new volume and select export to DICOM.
  11. Open and review DICOM files in a piece of equipment designed to open and review standard CT/MRI scan DICOM files.

Note that the dicom file is just a completely black and white image. All the bone contrast is lost. You might have to do something a bit more fancy to combine your model volume on top of the original volume if you still want the original bone contrast but I am pretty sure it would be possible.

I tried this out and it worked well for me. Thanks to @cpinter for the extra tips about converting back to a scalar volume etc.

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