Pydicom

If you're working with medical imaging data, this handles the DICOM format end to end. Read CT, MRI, X-ray files, extract pixel arrays for analysis, modify metadata, anonymize patient information, or convert to standard image formats like PNG. The skill covers practical workflows like applying windowing for proper display, handling multi-frame sequences, dealing with compressed transfers, and creating DICOM files from scratch. Medical imaging has annoying edge cases around color spaces and compression codecs, so having guidance on pylibjpeg dependencies and photometric interpretation saves debugging time. Useful for radiology workflows, research datasets, or anything touching PACS systems.

skills.sh installs: 381
GitHub stars: 33.2K
last updated: Aug 21, 2026

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Install

$ npx -y skills add davila7/claude-code-templates --skill pydicom --agent claude-code

Installs into .claude/skills of the current project.

Files

Pydicom

Overview

Pydicom is a pure Python package for working with DICOM files, the standard format for medical imaging data. This skill provides guidance on reading, writing, and manipulating DICOM files, including working with pixel data, metadata, and various compression formats.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when working with:

Medical imaging files (CT, MRI, X-ray, ultrasound, PET, etc.)
DICOM datasets requiring metadata extraction or modification
Pixel data extraction and image processing from medical scans
DICOM anonymization for research or data sharing
Converting DICOM files to standard image formats
Compressed DICOM data requiring decompression
DICOM sequences and structured reports
Multi-slice volume reconstruction
PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System) integration

Installation

Install pydicom and common dependencies:

uv pip install pydicom
uv pip install pillow  # For image format conversion
uv pip install numpy   # For pixel array manipulation
uv pip install matplotlib  # For visualization

For handling compressed DICOM files, additional packages may be needed:

SKILL.md on GitHub