Viewing Your Images

When you open a study, Kantrad displays your medical images in a viewer with tools to help you examine them closely. Here is everything you need to know.

Moving Around Your Images

You have four main ways to interact with your images:

  1. Adjust brightness and contrast — Press W on your keyboard, then click and drag on the image. Moving left and right changes the contrast. Moving up and down changes the brightness.

  2. Zoom in and out — Press Z, then click and drag to zoom. You can also use the + and - keys for quick zooming.

  3. Move the image around — Press P, then click and drag to slide the image in any direction.

  4. Scroll through slices — Use your mouse wheel or the arrow keys to move through slices in a CT or MRI series.

Tip: Press Esc at any time to reset the image back to its original position, zoom level, and brightness.

Choosing a Screen Layout

Kantrad can show your images in different arrangements. Use these keyboard shortcuts to switch layouts:

  1. Single image (Cmd+1) — One image fills the screen. Best for X-rays and ultrasound.
  2. Side by side (Cmd+2) — Two images next to each other. Great for comparing with a prior study.
  3. Four images (Cmd+6) — Four images in a grid. Useful for viewing multiple MRI sequences at once (for example, T1, T2, FLAIR, and DWI).
  4. MPR view (Cmd+3) — Shows the same scan in three planes: axial, sagittal, and coronal.
  5. MIP view (Cmd+4) — Maximum Intensity Projection, which highlights the brightest structures.
  6. 3D view (Cmd+5) — A three-dimensional rendering of the scan.
  7. Fusion — Overlays a PET scan on top of a CT scan (you need to have both series selected).

Brightness and Contrast Presets

Instead of adjusting brightness manually, you can pick a preset from the Presets dropdown in the toolbar. Kantrad shows different presets depending on the type of study:

  • For CT scans: Brain, Subdural, Stroke, Temporal, Soft Tissue, Lung, Bone, Liver, and Full
  • For MRI: Default, Brain T1, Brain T2
  • For X-rays: Default

Kantrad picks the best preset automatically when you first open a study.

Flipping and Rotating Images

Sometimes you need to flip or rotate an image to match the orientation you prefer:

  • Flip left to right: Cmd+Shift+H
  • Flip top to bottom: Cmd+Shift+V
  • Rotate 90 degrees clockwise: Cmd+Shift+R
  • Reset everything: Esc

Playing Through Slices Automatically (Cine Mode)

For CT and MRI studies with many slices, you can play through them like a video:

  1. Press the Space bar or click the play button in the toolbar.
  2. The images will scroll automatically.
  3. Press Space again to pause.
  4. You can change the speed using the FPS dropdown in the toolbar (from 1 to 30 frames per second).

Switching Between Series

When a study has multiple series (for example, different MRI sequences), a strip of thumbnails appears below the toolbar. Simply click on any thumbnail to switch to that series. You can also press PageUp and PageDown to move between series.

Automatic Layout Selection

Kantrad is smart about choosing the right layout for you. When you open a study, it automatically picks the best arrangement:

  • CT scans with many slices open in MPR view (three planes)
  • MRI brain studies open in the four-image grid
  • Multi-phase CT studies (arterial, venous, etc.) open in the four-image grid
  • X-rays open as a single image
  • Mammography opens side by side
  • Ultrasound opens as a single image

You can always switch to a different layout at any time.

Comparing with Prior Studies

When you use the side-by-side layout (Cmd+2), Kantrad automatically looks for a previous study of the same type for the same patient. If it finds one, it loads it in the second panel so you can compare.

To scroll through both images at the same time, press Cmd+Shift+S to turn on synchronized scrolling.

Time-Series Playback

Some studies contain multiple phases taken over time (like cardiac cine or perfusion studies). When Kantrad detects this, a timeline bar appears at the bottom of the screen. You can play through the phases, skip forward and back, or drag the timeline to a specific point.

PET-CT Fusion

To overlay a PET scan on a CT scan:

  1. Open the study in side-by-side mode (Cmd+2).
  2. Make sure the CT series is showing in the first panel and the PET series in the second panel.
  3. Switch to the Fusion layout.
  4. The CT appears in grayscale with the PET scan overlaid in colour.
  5. You can adjust how transparent the colour overlay is.

Patient Information on Screen

The corners of the viewer show helpful information from the study:

  • Top left: Patient name, ID, date of birth, study date, and imaging type
  • Top right: Current brightness/contrast values and zoom level
  • Bottom: Orientation labels (Right, Left, Anterior, Posterior, Head, Feet)

To hide or show this information, press Cmd+Shift+I.

Bookmarking Important Frames

If you find a particularly important slice, you can bookmark it by pressing Cmd+D or clicking the star icon in the toolbar. Bookmarked frames are highlighted on the frame slider so you can easily find them again.