Image J

I recently became aware of some free downloadable software that I found incredibly useful both as a student and an educator. Thanks to the Radiography faculty at UNC, I'm in love with Image J!

It's an online PACS toolset that allows you to manipulate any image you can view on your computer in multiple formats. Now, this isn't a database of images, but you can do pretty much anything that a PACS system can to any picture that you already have stored on your computer. Here's what you'll see at their home page:



To download, go to the "download" option at the very top of the page and click... then select the operating system you are utilizing on your PC. I happen to be using Windows at home, but notice one thing before you download - you can download with or without JAVA software included. I know I have JAVA on my computer, so I saved some room and chose the "without JAVA" option. You'll notice the file size is much smaller (1.7 MB compared to 21 MB). If you noticed already, I used Image J to create these images with a screen capture tool.



If you're familiar with PACS systems, you'll have lots of fun bringing up any image (particularly radiographic images) and playing around with the software, but there are many user-friendly features similar to what you might accomplish on photoshop with this software. If you go to the "documentation" hyperlink, there are tutorials available for you.



Once downloaded, you can open an image by going to file, open



Then select a picture from a file on your computer (or download something online first). Disclaimer - you must be aware of copyright infringement laws depending on the use of the picture you are downloading. Make sure to reference where you obtained the picture and/or obtain permission to use it :-)



Once you have selected a picture, you can begin utilizing the software to your heart's delight. This is a quick-start to get you going, but I encourage you to check out the "documentation" link listed above to learn about all of Image J's features. If you are planning on using this software for a school project or a lesson plan, it's worth investing a few minutes. I hope you like it as much as I do!