Read the plane, follow the patient coordinates, and understand what a stack represents.
One patient. Three perspectives.
An axial plane separates superior and inferior portions. A coronal plane separates anterior and posterior portions. A sagittal plane separates left and right portions. Acquired imaging planes can be oblique.
Read the labels first.
In a conventional axial display viewed from the feet, the patient’s right appears on the viewer’s left. Confirm the orientation labels on the actual series; do not infer the patient’s side from the screen alone.
A stack is a volume.
A series contains successive images through a region. Scroll across neighboring slices to follow a structure. Slice thickness and spacing affect the detail available between images.
Metadata gives the image its position.
DICOM stores image information alongside pixel data. Image Position (Patient), Image Orientation (Patient), and Pixel Spacing describe image geometry. Separate acquired series can have different positions and orientations.
TRY IT IN CONTEXT
Move from theory to the image.
Open the prostate viewer and identify the same pelvic organ in all three acquired T2 series. Describe one relationship that becomes clearer in the sagittal view.
Open the anatomy labCompletion is a personal study marker, stored in this browser.