Can IMK be used to import images *directly* into VB?

[Mugsy]

Just learned of ImageMagick from someone who suggested it as a way to load JP2 images into Visual Basic.

By calling "convert.exe", I can convert JP2's into PNG files that can be read directly by my VB program, but when you have a LOT of JP2 files, this process is extremely slow.

I also incorporated the Object dll into my program, but the "convert" method apparently does the same thing, writing the converted image to disk.

Is there a way to read a JP2 directly into VB without having to save them out to a different format first? TIA.