About Configuring Sequence Protocols

As a radiologist, the way that a scanner arranges images in a study might not match your preferred arrangement for reading. To automatically select, arrange, and adjust images to suit your workflow, you can configure sequence protocols.

To create and maintain sequence protocols, ask your PACS administrator to enable the Advanced Layout Management privilege in your user account. To create and maintain mammography sequence protocols, ask your PACS administrator to enable the Mammography Features privilege.

A sequence protocol specifies how to select, adjust, and arrange images and prior images in a consistent manner. You can create your own sequence protocols to identify current and multiple prior studies and control how they are displayed in the viewports. You can also use sequence protocols created by other users.

InteleViewer chooses a sequence protocol automatically based on matching rules. A matching rule specifies criteria to determine whether or not to apply a sequence protocol to a study. These criteria include modality, procedure codes, Uniform Study Descriptors (normalized modality, body parts, and details), and DICOM study descriptions.

A sequence protocol contains reading steps. A reading step specifies how InteleViewer to lay out images in viewports. You can use keyboard commands to view the next or previous step.

For each reading step, you configure views. A view specifies which images to display from a study. Other view options specify how to adjust images for display in their viewport. You can also choose whether to perform on-the-fly reconstructions, as well as set up direct side-by-side comparisons of current and prior images.

Sequence protocols are stored on the IntelePACS server for each user. You can also share sequence protocols and steps, and use the sequence protocols created by other users. Every time you log in to IntelePACS and open an order, InteleViewer chooses the most specific sequence protocol on the server.

Sequence protocols are saved for each layout profile. To see a given sequence protocol, make sure that the right profile is selected.