Cross-Referencing to Another Image

It is sometimes useful to see the slices positions of one image viewed on another image (the reference image) so that their position relative to anatomical structures can be judged. The slice positions are "cross-referenced" to another image. To do this within Jim, select "Reference Image" from the "View" menu: view_reference_image

This brings up reference image display:

reference_image_dialog

Load the reference image into the reference image display, and the positions of the slices for the image in the main display will be shown on the reference image.

The slice positions will be shown in one of two modes, selected from the "View" menu of the reference image dialog reference_view_menu

  • Slice centre display. The centre of the slice is shown as a blue line, as below for axial slices cross-referenced to a sagittal localiser:

slice_centre_display

  • Slice box display. The boundaries of the slice are shown as a blue box, as below for axial slices cross-referenced to a sagittal localiser:

slice_box_display

In either case, the individual slices are shown in blue. However, if you have a slice selected in the main displayed image, the selected slice is shown in yellow on the cross-referenced image. If you also want to see the positions of the slices of the cross-referenced image on the main displayed image, then select the Show the location of the reference image checkbox check box.

Note: for cross-referencing to work properly, two conditions must be met.

  1. The images must have come from a fairly modern source, otherwise the information required to cross-reference images may not be present.
  2. If you converted the images into NIFTI or UNC format, the image conversion must have been done using Jim Version 6.0 or later, or again the information required for reliable cross-referencing will not be present.

If you see the red exclamation mark symbol in the top left-hand corner of the cross-referenced image Unreliable reference image location, this means that the information required for reliable cross-referencing is not present, and the positions of the slices should be viewed with some caution.

When you have finished with the cross-referenced image, click on the done_button button.