- Answers
-
- 1 - How do I view a CR study done
today?
- Double-click the AMICAS shortcut
on your desktop or select AMICAS Viewer from the Start Menu. Initial
startup will take up to 30 seconds while your browser starts and loads the
viewer with the Query Tab showing. Type the Medical Record Number (MRN)
into the blank field and hit the Enter key. Scan the list for the
study you want. CR, the date and other info will be shown directly below
the gray bars that represent the images. Click on a gray bar to
display the corresponding image within a few seconds.
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- 2 - How do I view a study that an
AMICAS Query can't find?
- If the initial query did not return
the study you are looking for, then it may have aged out of the AMICAS
cache. Click on the Archive Tab in the Query Menu (the one with the
AMICAS logo). Enter the MRN. If you are already viewing other
studies from this patient, then AMICAS will automatically enter the MRN into the DICOM Query
field. Click Search Now and review the list of archived studies
that is returned. Click the gray square to select one or more studies
for retrieval. Click Retrieve Now. Retrieval will take 5 to
30 minutes, or more, depending on how busy the archive is. Wait at least
30 minutes and repeat your
AMICAS Query (See #1, above) to check if the requested study has been added to the list.
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- 3 - How do I view a patient that
an AMICAS Query can't find?
- AMICAS may stop tracking a patient
once all of their studies have expired from the cache. You can still
search the archive by selecting the Archive Tab and typing the Medical
Record Number or Accession Number into the corresponding field. Proceed
with the search and retrieve as described in #2, above.
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- 4 - How do I make the images
larger?
- To make images larger, you can change
the tiling, use the magnifier mouse tool or double-click an image. Tiling
choices and enlargement are listed in the Image Layout Menu by
clicking the little triangle near the upper left corner of the window. The
Magnifier Tool is selected via the Mouse Function Menu or by
repeated Right-Clicks on the mouse.
-
- 5 - How do I make it easier to see
a low contrast soft tissue lesion?
- Image contrast and brightness are
controlled by the Window / Level Tool and by Presets. The
Window / Level Tool is selected via the Mouse Function Menu or by repeated
Right-Clicks on the mouse. The icon of this tool is designed to remind you
that dragging to the left increases contrast while dragging up increases
brightness. Presets are accessed via the Image Layout Menu (a triangle
near the upper left corner of the window) or the Image Pop-Up Menu
(right-click and drag on any image). Presets are labeled and most useful
when viewing CT images.
-
- 6 - How do I compare two studies
done on two different days?
- Select Compare Mode
on the
Display Mode Menu to split the screen. An Image Layout Menu (a triangle
near the upper left) will appear for each of the two halves. Select
Pick Study to expose a sub-menu of studies available for this
particular patient. If necessary, repeat Pick Study or Pick Series on the
other Image Layout Menu. Match up the tiling and align corresponding
slices using the Image Layout Menu and the Page Images mouse function.
Once aligned, use the Arrows and Page Up / Down Keyboard Shortcuts
to move through both studies in synchrony.
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- 7 - How do I tell Left from Right
on an MRI or CT?
- Anatomical locators and other
parameters can be overlaid on the images. Click the DICOM Overlay
option on the Image Layout Menu to toggle overlays on and off.
-
- 8 - How do I measure the size of a
lesion?
- A measurement tool is selected via
the Annotation Sub-menu which is available on the Mouse Function
Menu as well as the Image Pop-Up Menu which is displayed by a right-click
and drag on any image. Measurements are in mm and can be erased by
clicking with the Measurement or Delete tool on the rectangle that frames
the numbers.
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- 9 - How do I know which vertebra
corresponds to the axial slice I'm viewing?
- Select Cross Reference Mode on
the Display Mode Menu to split the screen. An blue line will appear as an
overlay on the left-hand image to indicate the location corresponding to
the image in the right-hand window pane. If more than one image is
displayed in the right-hand pane, then the blue cross-reference line
corresponds to the image in the upper left position. To select the images
in the left and right panes, use the Navigation Bar at the top of the
screen and remember that this feature requires intersecting image planes.
Once the series are selected, use the Page Images mouse function or
the Arrows and Page Up / Down Keyboard Shortcuts to move through
the stack of images.
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- 10 - How do I quickly display an image at full
resolution?
- Double click on the left
mouse button while the cursor is over the image. To return the image to
its original size, double click the left mouse button again.
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