After defining one or more hanging protocol templates, apply one by selecting it from the hanging protocol toolbar.
Dock this toolbar to the main window or to the Layout Manager. Click on the arrow button to display the list of available templates. Select the desired entry. The viewer applies the template to the current study to the best of its abilities.
When applying a hanging protocol, the hanging protocol manager removes white spaces, if present, from the Series Description attribute of the first image in the series, converts it to lower cases, and compares it against a list of predefined values saved for the hanging protocol. If no series description exists, a NULL value is recorded. NULL values match the first series with no series description in the study. If a match is found, the corresponding series is loaded into the assigned image frame. If no match is found, the frame remains empty, indicating the specified series does not exist in the study.
Some exceptions exist to the method above:
Function |
Defining the Hanging Protocol ... |
Session stack |
When the image frame is loaded using the session stack function, the hanging protocol is defined to load all series in all studies into the assigned frame regardless of number of studies, series or series description.
The same conditions and exceptions exist for the session stack as for the group stack in a hanging protocol. |
Group stack |
When the image frame is loaded using the group stack function, the hanging protocol is defined to load all series in the selected study into the assigned frame regardless of number of series or series description.
Note: The user’s Auto-load Localizers setting is not saved as part of the hanging protocol. Localizer series are included based on the setting at the time the hanging protocol is applied.
Exception: When an image frame is loaded by dragging a series from the thumbnail panel, even if all series are included or after the group stack tool was used, the hanging protocol is defined to use series descriptions rather than the group stack function. |
Series stack |
When the image frame is loaded using the series stack function, the hanging protocol is defined to load all series in all studies whose Series Description value matches that of the image (displayed when creating the HP) into the assigned frame. |
Unviewed stack |
The hanging protocol is defined to load all images that have not been rendered on the screen at full fidelity.
The image state is determined at the time the HP is applied, meaning if an unviewed image is rendered at full fidelity after the HP is applied, the image remains in the HP’s image frame. |
Hanging protocols include rules for displaying prior studies. When multiple prior studies exist, you can swap the default prior for any other study loaded into the Viewer. See Apply study to current layout for details.