Key Objects flag the most important images in a study so they stand out on reopen. The viewer stores them as DICOM Key Object Selection (KO) objects, which means they travel with the study across PACS systems and reappear correctly in any compliant viewer.
Step 1: Mark an image as a Key Object
Navigate to the image you want to flag. Click Key Object in the toolbar. A small star appears in the corner of the thumbnail and the image. Repeat for every image you want marked.
Step 2: Review all Key Objects
A KO badge appears on the thumbnail of any series that contains key objects. Click it to filter to just the key instances, which is faster than scrolling the full series.
Step 3: Unmark a Key Object
Navigate to the flagged image and click Key Object again to toggle it off. The star disappears.
Step 4: Use Key Objects in reports
When writing a report from within the viewer, you can insert Key Object thumbnails directly. This gives referring physicians a pre-curated set of representative images in the report without them having to hunt.
Tips
- Key Objects are great for teaching files and second opinions. A short list of marked slices is faster to review than a full 600-slice CT.
- Key Objects and Presentation State are separate DICOM objects. You can have one without the other.
Related articles
- Annotations, text and arrows
- Writing a report in the viewer
- Exporting studies