Stacks

Stacks are a set of sequential images that can be scrolled and are expected for all cross-sectional studies (e.g. CT/MRI) as well as most time-resolved modalities (e.g. DSA/contrast-enhanced ultrasound).

Creating stacks

In your browser

Uploading stacks is easy but depends on the image format. 

• DICOM: sequential images are automatically separated into stacks when uploaded using this format.

• JPG and PNG: For cross-sectional images (CT and MRI) or temporal sequences (DSA run), sequential images from a series can be uploaded as a .zip file containing sequentially numbered images. 

Operating systems can create zip files without the need for additional software.

• macOS: highlight images, right-click and select 'compress'

• Windows: highlight images, right-click and 'send to compressed (zipped) folder'

Using an uploader

You can upload cases from DICOM/PACS as stacks to Radiopaedia using one of our uploaders. 

Number of images

PLEASE avoid uploading every single thin image you have. A 650 x 0.6 mm stack is useless and takes forever to load. It is very unusual for a single series to require more than 100 images. 

Make sure you create the best possible learning experience (which rarely requires thins that you may need for diagnosis). 

It is, however, good to include more than just the area of abnormality as search-and-find is an important skill to develop. 

Trim tool

In the new uploader (available as an opt-in beta feature in the user settings) you can trim unnecessary images from the start and end of stacks. 

Key image

It is worth keeping in mind that the middle image within a stack is used as the thumbnail image by default and that often, this will not be a good representation of the pathology. Therefore, it is often helpful to select a specific different key image.