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Guide

How to open a DICOM scan sent by WhatsApp or Telegram on iPhone and iPad

WhatsApp and Telegram deliver a DICOM file but cannot display it: a CT, MRI or CBCT shows up as a document with a generic icon. Tap the document, tap the share button and choose Ossidex (this works for .dcm files and ZIP archives), or choose Save to Files and then, in Ossidex, tap + → Files. A complete study should travel as one ZIP sent as a document; a screenshot or a photo of the monitor is not DICOM.

By the Ossidex team · How we write and check these pages · Updated

Download on the App StoreFree to download · iPhone & iPad · iOS 17+
Ossidex library on iPhone with two imported CBCT studies and the + button used to import files

WhatsApp on iPhone

  1. Download the document. Tap the document in the chat to download it. WhatsApp shows its name and size but no preview — normal for DICOM.
  2. Share it. Open the document and tap the share button.
  3. Choose Ossidex. For a .dcm file or a ZIP, pick Ossidex in the row of apps. The study lands in the library.
  4. Or save it to Files. For RAR, 7z, ISO, files without an extension or several separate files, choose Save to Files, then in Ossidex tap + → Files and select them together.

Telegram on iPhone

  1. Download the file. Tap the file in the chat. In a regular chat the original stays in Telegram’s cloud for later downloads.
  2. Share or save it. Open the file, tap the share button and choose Ossidex (for a .dcm or ZIP) or Save to Files.
  3. Import from Files if needed. In Ossidex tap + → Files and pick what you saved.

A Telegram link is not a file. A t.me/… link points to a message inside Telegram, so Ossidex cannot download it and tells you so. Share the file itself from Telegram.

What actually arrives

TopicWhatsAppTelegram
Sending DICOM or a ZIPAttach button → DocumentPaperclip → File
Maximum size per file2 GB2 GB; 4 GB if the sender has Premium
Photos and videosUsually compressed (Standard or HD quality)Full quality only when sent as a file
  • Compression concerns pictures, not the scan. A DICOM file or ZIP can only be attached as a document (in Telegram, a file), so it arrives as the file the sender picked.
  • One .dcm is usually one image — a CT or MRI slice, or one X-ray. Some dental CBCT exports pack the whole volume into one multi-frame file; otherwise a study is hundreds of files.
  • A whole study needs a ZIP. In the Files app, select the folder (More → Select), then tap More → Compress. Most dental CBCT studies are far below 2 GB. Other archives: ZIP, RAR, 7z and ISO.
  • A screenshot or a photo of the monitor is not DICOM. Without pixel spacing, Hounsfield values or a volume there are no millimetre measurements, HU readings, MPR or 3D. Ask for the files.

What you received and what you can do in Ossidex

What you receivedWhat you can do in Ossidex
One .dcm documentView and measure that image; a multi-frame CBCT opens as a volume
Several .dcm documentsImport them together; you get only the slices that were sent
A ZIP of the whole studyEvery series, plus MPR, 3D and the dental arch with Pro
RAR, 7z or ISOSave to Files, then + → Files; protected archives ask for the password
Google Drive, Dropbox or WeTransfer linkCopy it and paste it in Ossidex
A t.me/… linkOpen it in Telegram and share the file
A link to the clinic’s web portalUsually an online viewer: use its Download button or ask for the DICOM

A cloud link pasted in a chat is often the easiest route for large studies: Ossidex downloads and unpacks it — see opening a scan from a cloud link. If something still fails, see study won’t open.

What to write back to the clinic: “Could you send the full DICOM study — not screenshots or the PDF report — as a ZIP document, or as a Google Drive or WeTransfer link?”

Sending a scan by WhatsApp or Telegram

Whatever you send leaves your device: the messenger carries it and the recipient keeps a copy that can be forwarded. An anonymized copy limits what travels with the images.

  1. Export an anonymized copy. Open the study in Ossidex and, in the side menu under Export, tap Export anonymised (ZIP).
  2. Pick the chat. In the share sheet choose WhatsApp or Telegram and the recipient. The ZIP goes as a document: real DICOM for an iPhone, iPad or computer.
  • The copy drops names, IDs, birth date, referring physician, institution and device identifiers and replaces the UIDs; study dates, age and sex stay.
  • Pixels are not edited: text burned into an image stays visible. Check before sending.
  • The rules on patient data that apply to you still apply. Export is free while your library holds up to five studies, then part of Pro.

Frequently asked questions

Why does WhatsApp show the scan as an unknown file?

Messengers preview common formats such as photos and PDFs, not medical DICOM, so the chat shows only the name and size. The file is fine; open it in a DICOM viewer.

The ZIP is too big to send on WhatsApp. What now?

Both accept documents up to 2 GB (4 GB from Telegram Premium senders). For a larger study, upload the ZIP to Google Drive, Dropbox or WeTransfer and send the link; the recipient pastes it into Ossidex.

Can I open a scan that was sent from an Android phone?

Yes. The DICOM file is the same whichever phone sent it, as long as it was attached as a document rather than a photo and the whole study was included.

Is sending a scan by messenger private?

WhatsApp says personal chats are end-to-end encrypted; Telegram stores regular chats encrypted in its cloud and offers end-to-end secret chats. Either way the recipient keeps a forwardable copy, so send an anonymized export.

Does Ossidex upload the scan I open from a chat?

Scans are opened and processed on your iPhone or iPad. There is no account, and your images are not uploaded to Ossidex servers.

Sources

Related pages

  • Open DICOM files on iPhone

    Open .dcm and other DICOM files on iPhone from Mail, AirDrop, iCloud Drive or the Files app with Ossidex, a free DICOM viewer for iPhone and iPad.

  • Open a scan from a cloud link

    Open a CT, MRI or CBCT shared via Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, WeTransfer or iCloud on iPhone or iPad: paste the link in Ossidex to download it.

  • Open DICOM in ZIP, RAR, 7z or ISO archives on iPhone and iPad

    Ossidex unpacks DICOM studies from ZIP, RAR (incl. multi-volume), 7z, TAR/GZ and ISO disc images — including password-protected archives — on iPhone and iPad.

  • Study won’t open: fixes

    Fixes for DICOM studies that will not open: incomplete downloads, only the viewer copied, proprietary files, password archives, portal links, memory.

  • Patients

    Got a CD or link with your scan? View it at home, privately.

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