Image and Series Sorting

Introduction

Synapse groups and orders images according to DICOM information and user settings. After grouping occurs, images are sorted depending on the modality.

Synapse sorts series and images as outlined in the following topics:

• Non-MG Image Sorting
• MG Non-Tomo Image Sorting
• MG Tomo Image Sorting
• Series Sorting
• Grouping and Sorting by Modality

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Non-MG Image Sorting

Synapse sorts non-MG images using the following sorting priority sequence:

1. Localizer images

   Note:

   Synapse determines if a series contains localizers based on the DICOM information. For CT studies, Synapse will also separate the localizer image if the series has multiple view planes and one of the view planes only has one image.

2. Series Instance UID
3. Image number
4. Frame number
5. Acquisition time
6. Content time

   Note:

   Content time is only applicable when acquisition time does not exist.

7. SOP Instance UID

MG Non-Tomo Image Sorting

Synapse sorts MG non-tomo images as follows:

• Synthetic views are last.
• Acquisition time is sorted oldest to newest.
• Content time
• Study time

Note:

Content time is only applicable when acquisition time does not exist. Study time is only applicable when content time does not exist.

Synapse determines synthetics as described in this table:

If the Manufacturer contains ...	And the DICOM series description contains ...	The series name is appended with...
HOLOGIC	C-VIEW	C-View
GE	V-PREVIEW	V-View
FUJI	0019,104A =10	S-View

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MG Tomo Image Sorting

MG tomo sorting depends on the orientation of an image and the direction of the view. This list provides a reference for different views and their corresponding orientation and direction. Bottom and top refer to the image location on the slider bar. See Using the Slider Bar for additional information.

CC:	Foot (Bottom) to Head (Top)
FB:	Head (Bottom) to Foot (Top)
MLO:	Lateral (Bottom) to Medial (Top)
LMO:	Medial (Bottom) to Lateral (Top)
ML:	Lateral (Bottom) to Medial (Top)
LM:	Medial (Bottom) to Lateral (Top)
ISO:	Lateral (Bottom) to Medial (Top)
SIO	Medial (Bottom) to Lateral (Top)
XCC, XCCL, XCCM:	Foot (Bottom) to Head (Top)

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Series Sorting

Synapse sorts series using the following sorting priority sequence:

1. Localizer series

   Note:

   The localizer series is dependent on the status of the Localizer user settings. Synapse places the localizers at the beginning of the Series Picker by default. However, you can also configure the Localizer setting to display last.

2. US/XA multiframe

   Note:

   US/XA multiframe is dependent on the status of the Split XA/US single frame images into separate thumbnails setting. If this setting is disabled, Synapse places multiframe images after the single frame series. If this setting is enabled, series are sorted based on the following order of items 3 through 8.

3. Series number
4. Series date and time
5. Series Description
6. MR fields:
   1. Echo Number
   2. Temporal Position Identifier (TPI)

Note:

MR fields are dependent on the MR Series Picker user settings. Synapse can use the following rules sequentially to determine MR grouping.

7. Series Instance UID
8. Image fields

   Note:

   Synapse uses the following image fields from only the first image in the series for additional sorting.

1. Image number
2. Acquisition time
3. Content time
4. SOP Instance UID

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Note:

Synapse displays any series for a CT study that only contains a Secondary Capture (SC) after all series containing DICOM images, and before the All Images and Bookmark series.

Grouping and Sorting by Modality

Synapse groups and and sorts images by modality type when the images display in the Series Picker. For more assistance on grouping and sorting of images, see your System Administrator.

MG Studies

Synapse groups images of an MG study by laterality, view code sequence, and view modifier code. Within a group, Synapse sorts the images so the oldest image acquired appears first.

MR Studies

Synapse groups MR study images initially by series number, and then by echo number, when multiple echo images exist within each series. If enabled, the series can be grouped by temporal position for multi-phasic studies.

Synapse sorts images within a series group by image number in ascending order.

CT Studies

Synapse groups CT study images by series number; Synapse separates the localizers within a series into a different series group. Localizer images from each acquired series are separated into a separate series. This can result in multiple localizer series if more than one acquired series contains localizer images.

Synapse sorts images within a series group by image number in ascending order.

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Studies with Multiframe Series

Synapse groups studies with multiframe series, such as XA, US, enhanced CT and enhanced MR modalities, in the Series Picker by series number. Synapse then groups the series by series date and time. In the case of multiframe series, Synapse further sorts the series by image level attributes such as image number and image time. Synapse sorts images within a multiframe by frame number.

Note:

Synapse 7.2 and earlier versions do not support enhanced CT and MR modalities.

RF Studies

Synapse groups images of an RF study by acquisition time, content time, image number, and frame number.

Related Topics

Configuring Series Settings

Using the Slider Bar

Mammography Overview

Mammography Image Grouping