Read .img medical image without header in python

Question

I have a radiograph .img file without the header file. However, the researchers who have published the file have given this information about it

High resolution (2048 × 2048 matrix size, 0.175mm pixel size)
Wide density range (12-bit, 4096 gray scale)
Universal image format (no header, big-endian raw data)

I am trying to open the file using Python but unable to do so. Could someone suggest any method to read this image file?

Answer 1

I found some radiograph images, like yours, by downloading the JSRT database. I have tested the following code on the first image of this database: JPCLN001.IMG.

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import numpy as np

# Parameters.
input_filename = "JPCLN001.IMG"
shape = (2048, 2048) # matrix size
dtype = np.dtype('>u2') # big-endian unsigned integer (16bit)
output_filename = "JPCLN001.PNG"

# Reading.
fid = open(input_filename, 'rb')
data = np.fromfile(fid, dtype)
image = data.reshape(shape)

# Display.
plt.imshow(image, cmap = "gray")
plt.savefig(output_filename)
plt.show()

It produces an output file JPCLN001.PNG which looks like this:

I hope I have answered to your question. Happy coding!