Using the Spine Label Palette

Introduction

You can label vertebral bodies and disc spaces on spine images. As with other annotations, you can preserve spine labels in a Snapshot or through the Save Series Annotation or Save Study Annotations options in the context menu.

When you open the spine label palette, Synapse automatically opens to the corresponding anatomy in the image as long as the study description or series description contains cervical, thoracic, or lumbar. If the descriptions do not contain cervical, thoracic, or lumbar, the spine label palette opens to C1.

Every click automatically gives you the next option in the selected series, using your first click as a starting point. Based on your initial click on the vertebral bodies or disc space, Synapse correctly labels all subsequent clicks on the spine in any order you want.

For example, when you click on the image and Synapse displays C7, subsequent clicks create labels for T1 or C6 depending on the direction of your next click. If you label T1 and T2 and then click between T1 and T2, Synapse automatically labels the disc space as T1-2.

Note:
  • Use the slider on the spine label palette to expose buttons for the cervical, thoracic, lumbar, and sacral sections of the spine.
  • For volume spine labeling:
    • By default, when you click the image, the diameter of the volume is 20mm unless you change the diameter.
    • To change the diameter, click, hold, and drag the mouse.
    • Synapse remembers the last used diameter.

Steps

  1. Right-click the image to display a context menu.
  2. Select Annotations > Spine Label to open the Spine Label palette.
  3. Optional: To use volume spine labeling, select the Volume option in the Spine Label palette. Synapse displays the spine labels in other series with the same Frame of Reference (FOR) as the initial series.
  4. Do any of the following:

    If you want to do this...

    Complete these steps...

    Label vertebral bodies first.

    • Click a vertebral body button of your choice.
    • Click the corresponding vertebral body in the image.
    • Continue clicking subsequent vertebral bodies on the image for semi-automated labeling.
    • Optional for volume spine labels:

    Label disc spaces first.

    • Click Disc Space of your choice.
    • Click the corresponding disc space in the image.
    • Continue clicking subsequent disc spaces on the image for semi-automated labeling.
  5. Optional: Do any of the following:

    If you want to do this...

    Complete these steps...

    Label vertebral bodies or disc spaces on different images.

    • Scroll the mouse wheel to the next image, click to add a spine label, and repeat.
    • Note: If you want to use zoom, press and hold the SHIFT key and scroll the mouse wheel.

    Edit a spine label.

    • Close the spine label palette.
    • Double-click the spine label to edit. Synapse displays a text box where you can change the spine label.

    Delete the spine label.

    • Right-click the annotation to display a context menu to delete the spine label.
  6. Click Close to close the palette.

Results

Annotations identify parts of the spine in the selected image. Vertebral bodies are labeled by spine section and number. C1 and C2 are examples of vertebral labels, as are T1 and T2, or L1 and S1. Disc space labels include a dash to identify where the disc space is in relation to the vertebral bodies next to it. For example, a label of the form C4-5 identifies a disc space between the C4 and C5 vertebrae.

For volume spine labeling, Synapse propagates the spine label across orthogonal views with the same FOR.

Additional Options

  • To open the spine label palette with a keyboard shortcut, press P.
  • Click Spine on the icon menu.

Related Topics

Configuring Custom Shortcut Keys