InVesalius is a free, open-source program that turns CT, CBCT and MRI DICOM series into 3D reconstructions and printable surface models. Dentists, dental technicians, maxillofacial teams and students use it to view a scan in 3D, isolate bone or teeth by density, and export an STL file for 3D printing or CAD work. If you searched for “InVesalius download” or “InVesalius DICOM to STL”, this page explains what the program does well, where it stops, and how to get a first model out of it.
InVesalius has been developed since 2001 by the Renato Archer Information Technology Center (CTI) in Brazil and is released under the GNU GPL version 2. It is not a treatment planning suite: there are no implant libraries or guide design tools. Think of it as a fast, no-cost bridge between a CBCT export and a mesh editor, slicer or teaching session.
InVesalius at a glance
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Latest version | 3.1.99998 (stable release, 14 April 2022); nightly builds are also published on GitHub |
| Licence | Free and open source (GNU GPL v2) |
| Platforms | Windows 64-bit, macOS (Intel and Apple Silicon builds), Linux (Flatpak via Flathub) |
| Developer | CTI Renato Archer (Brazil) and open-source contributors |
| Official website | invesalius.github.io |
| Best for | Quick CBCT/CT to STL conversion, 3D review of scans, teaching and printed anatomical models |
What it does
- Imports DICOM 3.0 (including JPEG lossless/lossy and RLE encodings), older ACR-NEMA files, Analyze files and stacks of BMP, PNG, JPEG or TIFF images.
- Segments by density with ready-made threshold presets such as Bone, Compact Bone, Spongial Bone and Enamel (Adult/Child), plus manual thresholds.
- Offers region growing and watershed segmentation and a brush-style editor for cleaning masks slice by slice.
- Builds 3D surfaces from masks, with connectivity tools to keep only the largest part and remove floating fragments.
- Exports surfaces as binary or ASCII STL, PLY, OBJ, VRML and other mesh formats for CAD and 3D printing.
- Renders volumes with raycasting presets and projection modes such as MIP, MinIP and MIDA, with a crop plane.
- Measures linear and angular distances in 2D and 3D, and reports surface volume and area.
- Saves screenshots as BMP, TIFF, JPG and other image formats for reports and teaching slides.
How dental teams use it
Convert a CBCT scan to an STL jaw model
- Export the study from the CBCT software as a standard DICOM series and copy the folder locally.
- In InVesalius, import the DICOM folder and pick the correct series (the one with the full slice count).
- Choose the Bone or Compact Bone (Adult) preset, then adjust the lower threshold until the cortex looks continuous without too much noise.
- Use the connectivity tool to keep the largest region, create the surface and export it as binary STL.
- Clean, cut and hollow the mesh in MeshLab or your CAD software before printing.
Isolate teeth for a demonstration model
- Start from the Enamel (Adult) preset, which picks up the densest structures.
- Crop the volume to the arch of interest and remove metal artefacts with the manual editor where possible.
- Export the teeth surface separately from the bone surface so they can be coloured or printed in different materials.
Show patients and students the anatomy in 3D
- Load the scan and switch to volume rendering with a bone preset.
- Use the crop plane to cut through the mandible and show root position, canal course or bone width.
- Save screenshots for the treatment explanation or a lecture handout.
Install and first run
- Windows: the stable installer is a 64-bit build labelled for Windows 7/10. Install it and launch it from the Start menu. On Windows 11, test it with one of your own scans before you rely on it.
- macOS: separate builds exist for Intel and Apple Silicon (arm64). Pick the one that matches your Mac. If Gatekeeper blocks the first launch, open it via right-click > Open.
- Linux: the project points to the Flatpak package on Flathub; install it with your distribution’s Flatpak tools.
- Hardware: large CBCT volumes and high-resolution surfaces use a lot of RAM. 8 GB is a sensible minimum, more for full-skull scans. A dedicated GPU makes volume rendering smoother.
- Common gotchas: some vendor exports use proprietary or compressed containers that InVesalius cannot read; export plain DICOM instead. Folders with several series mixed together can confuse import, so keep one study per folder.
Limitations
- The last stable release dates from April 2022. Development continues on GitHub, but newer features arrive only in nightly builds.
- No implant planning, implant libraries or surgical guide design.
- Threshold segmentation struggles with CBCT: grey values are not calibrated like CT, so teeth and bone often need manual cleanup.
- Metal restorations and implants create streak artefacts that end up in the mesh.
- No AI-based automatic tooth segmentation in the stable release.
- It is a general reconstruction and education tool; the official site makes no claim of regulatory clearance, so do not treat it as your diagnostic viewer.
InVesalius vs alternatives
| Tool | Strength | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| InVesalius | Simplest route from DICOM to STL, low learning curve | Threshold tools only, no dental automation |
| 3D Slicer | Actively released, dental AI extensions such as DentalSegmentator | Larger interface, steeper learning curve |
| ITK-SNAP | Precise semi-automatic segmentation, AI-assisted mode in 4.4 | Focused on segmentation, fewer visual tools |
| Blue Sky Plan | Dedicated implant planning and guide design | Shareware (conditionally free), Windows only |
FAQ
Is InVesalius free to download?
Yes. InVesalius is free and open source under the GNU GPL v2, with no paid edition. You can use it in a clinic, a lab or a classroom without licence fees.
How do I convert DICOM to STL in InVesalius?
Import the DICOM series, choose a threshold preset such as Bone, create the 3D surface and export it as STL. Clean the mesh in a separate editor before printing.
Is there an InVesalius version for Mac?
Yes. The 3.1.99998 release includes macOS builds for both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs.
Does InVesalius run on Windows 11?
The official installer is a 64-bit Windows build labelled for Windows 7/10; the release page does not list Windows 11 separately. Install it and test with one of your own scans before relying on it.
InVesalius vs 3D Slicer: which is better?
InVesalius is faster to learn for simple DICOM-to-STL jobs. 3D Slicer is more powerful and has dental AI extensions, but it takes longer to master.
What is the latest InVesalius version?
The latest stable release is 3.1.99998 from April 2022. Nightly builds with newer code are published on the project’s GitHub page.
What is a good InVesalius alternative?
For automatic tooth and jaw segmentation, 3D Slicer with DentalSegmentator is the most capable free option. For careful manual and semi-automatic segmentation, try ITK-SNAP.
Where can I find an InVesalius tutorial?
Documentation, source code and user resources are linked from the official site, invesalius.github.io, and the project’s GitHub wiki.
Last checked against official sources: 26 September 2026 (developer website: invesalius.github.io). Versions and licence terms change — confirm on the developer's site before deploying in a clinic.
