A referring dentist, a surgeon or a patient has handed you a CD or USB key exported from a Carestream CBCT unit. The short answer: open the disc in Windows and run ViewData.exe. It installs CS 3D Imaging Lite if the computer does not already have it, then opens the volume. You do not need the full CS 3D Imaging licence, and there is no public “CS 3D Imaging Lite download” page: the viewer travels on the exported media. Sources: Carestream Dental’s CS 3D Imaging User Guide (SMA22, edition 10, September 2024), the online help, the system requirements sheet (SMB05, February 2023) and the CS 3D Imaging Premium requirements (August 2025 revision), checked on 22 October 2026. Status: Not tested yet — we have read the documentation; we have not run these exports in a clinic.
What is on a Carestream CBCT disc
Carestream’s 3D software runs on Windows: CS Imaging 8 is the 2D/3D patient database, and CS 3D Imaging (currently the 3.10.x line) is the CBCT module that opens from it. When a practice exports a volume to a CD or USB key from CS 3D Imaging, the user guide says the export disc lets the recipient copy the 3D volume and data to a computer, install CS 3D Imaging Lite if needed and launch the viewer. A USB export produces a folder with two items: a Data folder with the volume and ViewData.exe. Carestream tells the sender to make sure the recipient knows they need to launch ViewData.exe.
| Item | What Carestream documents |
|---|---|
| Viewer on the disc | CS 3D Imaging Lite, for “users who do not have access to the complete version of CS 3D Imaging” |
| How it starts | Run ViewData.exe from the root of the CD or from the export folder on the USB key |
| Platform | Windows only; CS 3D Imaging lists Windows 10 and 11 (64-bit) and Windows Server 2012 R2 to 2022 |
| Licence | The viewer is free to use on exported media; CS 3D Imaging itself is shareware (conditionally free): licensed software with a free Premium trial |
| Public download | None found on carestreamdental.com. The viewer is only distributed on exported CDs and USB keys |
Opening the disc on a Windows PC
- Insert the CD or plug in the USB key and open it in File Explorer. Do not rely on autorun; it is disabled on most managed PCs.
- Find
ViewData.exe. On a CD it is in the root; on a USB key it is inside the folder the sender chose during export, next to the Data folder. - Double-click
ViewData.exe. If CS 3D Imaging Lite is not installed, the installer runs first. You need rights to install software on that PC; on a locked-down clinic workstation, ask IT. - The viewer opens the volume: the MPR layout (axial, coronal and sagittal slices plus the 3D rendering), slice scrolling, brightness and contrast, and measurements.
- For another case later, run
ViewData.exefrom that case’s disc. Lite opens the data that came with it; it is not a patient database.
Discs from the older CS 9000 3D line carry Setup3DViewer.exe instead; treat it the same way.
Lite viewer vs the full CS 3D Imaging
Lite is a review tool. Carestream’s own description is one line: data review for users without the complete version. Everything that defines the full product, the implant library with more than 50 manufacturers, prosthetic-driven implant planning, CS Airway, Virtual Ceph, printing, volume export and the CD or USB export itself, belongs to CS 3D Imaging under licence. In practice:
- You can read the scan, scroll slices and measure. You cannot plan implants or export a new disc from Lite.
- Implants and annotations placed by the sender are not part of a DICOM volume export; if the referral mentions a planned implant, ask for the implant planning report as well.
- Carestream’s safety notes apply here too: 3D rendering must not be used for diagnosis and must be confirmed on the MPR slices, and an exported volume may be subsampled, which “may lead to diagnosis errors”.
If ViewData.exe is missing: ask for a DICOM export
Discs copied by hand, or exported through the wrong tool, sometimes contain images without the viewer. Ask the sending practice for a Volume export instead. In CS 3D Imaging it sits in the Export toolbar on the MPR, Curve and Bilateral tabs and is intended, in Carestream’s words, “for use in third-party DICOM software”. The sender chooses:
- the axial matrix size and slice thickness (changing either reduces image quality, so ask for the original resolution);
- compressed or uncompressed DICOM; an uncompressed volume can take up to about 350 MB, but choose it if your viewer cannot read JPEG lossless;
- Anonymize, which strips patient health information, and Create DICOMDir, which adds the index file some viewers require.
Only axial slices are exported; implants and annotations are not. Such a folder opens in any general viewer. On Windows or macOS, Sante DICOM Viewer Lite is free and gives you MPR, 3D and measurements. For implant planning on a non-Carestream workstation, OnDemand3D imports DICOM volumes from any scanner. More options are in our hub of free dental DICOM viewers and PACS.
How the sending practice makes the disc
For a CD: insert a blank disc, click the CD export button in the horizontal toolbar (MPR, Curve or Bilateral tab), enter a title of up to 16 characters or accept the default (the current date), choose a recording speed and click Next; the disc ejects when done. For a USB key: insert the key first, click the USB export button, pick or create a folder in the Select a folder window and click OK; when exporting volumes only, choose FDK, MAR or both reconstructions.
Carestream’s newer alternative to media is Share My Case, part of the CS 3D Imaging Premium service: per the 2025 requirements sheet, the recipient logs in to a Carestream Dental account to download the CS 3D Imaging Share Viewer and the case, and the Share Viewer cannot run at the same time as CS 3D Imaging on one workstation.
Limitations
- Windows only. Carestream lists no macOS version of CS 3D Imaging or its Lite viewer. On a Mac, use a DICOM export and a Mac viewer, or a Windows PC.
- No standalone download. Searches for “CS 3D Imaging Lite download” lead to unofficial copies. The viewer comes only on exported media; a third-party installer is not worth the risk on a clinic PC.
- Install rights. ViewData.exe installs software, so a managed workstation needs an administrator.
- Display matters. Carestream states CS 3D Imaging is not designed for touchscreens and that images on monitors below the specified resolution are not intended for diagnostic use.
- Review only. Planning, printing and re-export need the licensed software. A Share My Case recipient needs a Carestream Dental account.
Which route should you use
Receiving a Carestream disc on a Windows PC: run ViewData.exe and read the case in Lite. Receiving files with no executable, or working on a Mac: ask for a DICOM Volume export and open it in a general viewer. Planning treatment in your own CBCT software: ask for the uncompressed export with DICOMDIR at original resolution. The same vendor-viewer pattern applies elsewhere: a Sidexis 4 disc carries a read-only Sidexis 4 Viewer, and Vatech’s Ez3D-i exports a Simple Viewer next to its legacy Ez3D Plus.
FAQ
Is there a CS 3D Imaging software free download?
Not from Carestream. CS 3D Imaging is licensed software sold with Carestream CBCT units. The free piece is CS 3D Imaging Lite, placed on CDs and USB keys exported from the full software, plus a free trial of the Premium service for licensed users.
Where do I download CS 3D Imaging Lite (Light)?
There is no download page. Lite installs from the exported disc when the recipient runs ViewData.exe. If you received files without it, ask the practice to re-export to CD or USB, or to send a DICOM Volume export instead.
Does CS 3D Imaging or the Lite viewer run on a Mac?
No. Carestream’s requirements list Windows 10 and 11 and Windows Server editions only. Ask for a DICOM export and open it in a Mac DICOM viewer such as Sante DICOM Viewer Lite, or use a Windows PC.
What is “CS 3D Imaging Light 3.10”?
3.10 is the current CS 3D Imaging version line: Premium requires 3.10.64 or later, and the June 2026 suite ships 3.10.78. The Lite viewer on a disc comes from whichever version the sending practice runs, so a disc from an older suite carries an older viewer.
What are the system requirements for CS 3D Imaging?
Carestream’s sheet (SMB05, 2023) lists a 2.4 GHz Intel Core Duo, 4 GB RAM, an NVIDIA or AMD card with 512 MB supporting OpenGL 2.0, 300 MB on the system disk plus 1.5 GB for the implant library, a 1024×768 display of 17 inches or more, a CD burner for export, and Windows 10 or 11 64-bit or Windows Server 2012 R2 to 2022. The implant planning module needs a Core i7 class CPU, 8 GB RAM and a dedicated 1 GB OpenGL 3.2 card.
Last updated: 22 October 2026 · SoftProDents editorial team. Licence, version and platform details are checked against each developer's official documentation; none of the tools listed here should be treated as a certified medical device unless its vendor says so.
