CT Scan Orientation

[Ronin786]

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This might be a silly question, but is there anyway to know whether the CT you're looking it is inverted or not? I.e. are you looking from below the patient or not?

I've gotten burned on a couple question by looking at the wrong side of the body and when I finally cleared it up and realized that most CT scans are basically you looking from below, I see a knee MRI where it shows the Tibia from above.

Is there a general principle or anything for this?

 

[loveoforganic2]

I think they're messing up if they're showing a CT any way other than inferior -> superior with patient's left on your right and patient's right on your left. That's the standard, as far as I'm aware

Edit: in retrospect, that may just be for abdominal/thorax/H&N CTs. The lower extremity CTs I've seen have been as if the patient was standing in front of you. I don't remember for upper extremity

 

[mmmcdowe]

I think they're messing up if they're showing a CT any way other than inferior -> superior with patient's left on your right and patient's right on your left. That's the standard, as far as I'm aware

Edit: in retrospect, that may just be for abdominal/thorax/H&N CTs. The lower extremity CTs I've seen have been as if the patient was standing in front of you. I don't remember for upper extremity

Yup, if you aren't looking at the image as if looking up from the patients toes while they are on their back then there is something wrong with the scan or the patient.

 

[OveractiveBrain]

This might be a silly question, but is there anyway to know whether the CT you're looking it is inverted or not? I.e. are you looking from below the patient or not?

I've gotten burned on a couple question by looking at the wrong side of the body and when I finally cleared it up and realized that most CT scans are basically you looking from below, I see a knee MRI where it shows the Tibia from above.

Is there a general principle or anything for this?

The patient is always on their back.

The right side of the screen is the left side of the patient, just like in an xray

 

[Oh_Gee]

Yup, if you aren't looking at the image as if looking up from the patients toes while they are on their back then there is something wrong with the scan or the patient.

in an MRI of the thorax, are you also looking up from the patient's toe?

 

[mmmcdowe]

in an MRI of the thorax, are you also looking up from the patient's toe?

yes.