Extract text from gel images (BD1)
To convert BD1 images to another format, you need Image Studio or other Raster Image software.
To convert other file formats to the "Scientific Gel Imaging" file type, you need software like Image Studio or a similar tool.
The .BD1 file extension serves as a specialized container for scientific raster imagery, primarily associated with DNA sequencing and gel electrophoresis data generated by instruments from LI-COR Biosciences and Bio-Rad Laboratories. In the context of LI-COR systems, these files represent raw image data captured during the sequencing process, often output in a sequence (e.g., .bd1, .bd2) corresponding to different data channels or bands. Similarly, legacy Bio-Rad and AlphaEaseFC systems utilize this extension for gel documentation.
A common problem with .BD1 files is their proprietary nature and high bit-depth (often 16-bit grayscale). Standard image viewers like Windows Photos or Preview will fail to open them, or worse, display them as a solid black square because they cannot interpret the high dynamic range data without specific look-up tables (LUTs). Researchers frequently encounter these files when revisiting archived data or collaborating with labs using older hardware, only to find they lack the expensive, dongle-protected analysis software required to view them. For quantitative analysis, the best practice is converting these files to 16-bit TIFF to preserve pixel intensity data.
Convert.Guru analyzes your BD1 file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted DB1, AD, PEF and BME files.
If you want to convert BD1 file to CSV, JSON, XML, YAML, YML, TOML, INI, CFG, CONF, DAT, DB or SQL, you can use Image Studio or similar software from the "DNA Sequencing Image Data" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert DBF, XML, SQLITE, XLSX, SQL, TSV, ACCDB, YAML, MDB, CSV, ODS or JSON files to BD1, try Image Studio or another comparable tool in the "DNA Sequencing Image Data" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our BD1 converter.