Slicer can load several different types of data, including:

• volumes (such as MR slices);
• models (3D surfaces);
• scenes (Slicer views of data).

Volumes

A volume is a collection of volume elements (voxels) of an image. A slice is a portion of a volume.

Slicer can read medical image volumes of various types (including GE Signa and Genesis data, DICOM (digital imaging and communications in medicine) slices, and non-header image data). If Slicer does not recognize the header automatically, you must enter the necessary information manually, so that Slicer can read the volume correctly.

Models

A model is a 3D surface.

Technical Note: The data format for the models that Slicer reads in is vtkPolyData. Model files have a suffix of .vtk.

Scenes

A scene is a description of a Slicer view, including path names to volumes and models, as well as viewing options.

Scenes are saved in an XML file. Scene files have a suffix of .xml.