DICOM files contain a lot of information stored in tags associated with the image.
The most important data is overlaid on top of the image displayed, grouped in the corners.
Depending on image modality, some fields may be missing.
Top left
•Number of displayed image and total number of loaded images •Series number •Compression info (displayed only when lossy compression is used)
The following additional fields are presented only for MG modality (mammography): •Image laterality •View position |
Top right
•Patient first and last name •Patient ID •Patient birth date and sex •Institution name •Study ID •Study description •Series description •Image comments •Study comments •Rotation/flip (if applied) |
Bottom left
•Mouse cursor position (coordinates of the pixel in displayed DICOM image) and value of the pixel •Window level and window width (brightness and contrast), name of window preset, negative mode indicator •Thickness and location of the slice (e.g. CT and MR modalities) or rotation and tilt of x-ray lamp (XA modality) |
Bottom right
•Field strength (FS, only for MR modality) •Repetition time, Echo time (TR, TE, only for MR modality) •Date and time of image acquisition |
If the DICOM image contains scale information (pixel spacing), two 10cm rulers with 1cm marks are displayed along left and bottom edges of the panel (red arrows).
If the DICOM image contains information about patient orientation in space, there is a letter (or combination of letters) symbolizing the patient’s sides displayed at the center of each panel's edge (green arrows).
•A – anterior
•P – posterior
•L – left
•R – right
•S – superior
•I - inferior
Annotations can be turned off and on by clicking the Annotations button on the toolbar or pressing F12 key.
To hide all patient data (in series preview bar, panel title bar, overlaid annotations) click Hide patient data menu item or use the Shift + F12 shortcut.
DICOM overlays
DICOM overlays are monochromatic graphics (measurements, directions, annotations, etc.) that may be included in the DICOM file. Their display is enabled by default.
They can be hidden by choosing Hide DICOM overlay from the menu or using Ctrl + Shift + F12 shortcut.
