Sonio 3D viewer workflow guide

What you'll learn

How to open a 3D file from Sonio in your local 3D viewer.
How to edit a volume and send it back to the patient's report.
What must be set up before the workflow is available to you.

Before you start

The 3D Workflow only appears when your workstation has been set up for it. Check the following before you begin.

You are working inside the Sonio desktop application. The Open in viewer action only shows in the Sonio desktop app. In a normal web browser, you will see Download 3D file instead.
The desktop app is installed and configured on this workstation. Configuration is per workstation and per Windows user. The settings are stored in the logged-in Windows user's folder, so the app must be configured under the same Windows account you use. Setup is normally handled by IT or the Sonio implementation team.
A licensed manufacturer 3D viewer is installed: GE 4D View / Voluson, or Samsung 5D Viewer. The license is per workstation, with a limited number of seats. These viewers open vendor formats (GE: .vol; Samsung: .mvl), not a generic .dcm.
The file contains a 3D/4D volume. If it does not, no Open in viewer button appears.

⚠️Warning

If the app opens to a welcome or install screen instead of the login screen, the production URL is missing from its configuration. Enter the deep link sonio-app://us.sonio.app to point it at production.

How it works

You start in Sonio and finish in Sonio. When you click Open in viewer, Sonio downloads the volume and hands it to the desktop app, which opens it in your configured local 3D viewer. You edit the volume in that viewer (the manufacturer software, not a Sonio screen). When you save or export, the file returns through Sonio's upload pipeline and appears as new media in the exam gallery and report. JPEG exports come back as images; DICOM exports come back as an attachment. The download and re-upload are automatic; the editing happens in the manufacturer viewer under your control.

Step-by-step: open, edit, and re-upload a 3D file

Open the exam or patient record in Sonio and select a 3D/4D volume. The tile is labeled 3D when Sonio recognizes the file as a volume.
Click Open in viewer. The button shows Opening in progress... while the volume downloads.
Wait for the volume to open in your installed 3D DICOM viewer. This can take around 30 seconds, mostly because the manufacturer viewer is launching, not Sonio.
Edit the volume in the viewer: crop, rotate, measure, or enhance. Save your work. Then export to Sonio from inside the viewer: click the floppy / File icon, then Dicom send to send the DICOM image with measurements, or Export as JPEG image to send the image without measurements.
Confirm the result in Sonio. The tile shows Uploading... X%, then Processing..., then Uploaded with a done icon. The file is now attached to the patient's report. There is no separate success popup.

💡 Tip

Some users report the re-uploaded JPEG preview can look compressed. For the cleanest annotations, annotate in Sonio rather than in the viewer.

Common questions / troubleshooting

I see "Download 3D file" instead of "Open in viewer." Why?

You are in a web browser, not the Sonio desktop application. The 3D Workflow only runs in the desktop app. Open Sonio in the desktop app to see Open in viewer.

The file will not open in the viewer.

Confirm a licensed 3D viewer is installed on the workstation, and that the desktop app points to it. In the desktop app, set the viewer under File > Select DICOM viewer.

My edits are not showing back in Sonio.

Confirm you saved in the viewer, and that the DICOM viewer and folder are set correctly in the desktop app (File > Select DICOM viewer).

The re-upload failed. What can I do?

Re-uploads can fail for several reasons: a duplicate ("Image already uploaded"), a file over the 128 MB limit (the default), an unsupported format, a disconnected uplink, a processing timeout, or an internal error. Failed uploads can be retried.