Patient orientation attribute: what is the meaning when the image does not display parts of the body?

Question

In the general DICOM imaging module (C.7.6.1), the Patient Orientation (0020,0020) is declared type 2C (conditional).

From the standard DICOM documentation:

Required if image is not required. Image Orientation (patient) (0020,0037) and image position (patient) (0020,0032). May be present differently.

Now I need to create a secondary capture image that is not directly related to the patient, or it is better not to display part of the human body, but just a report related to the dose of radiopharmaceuticals administered to the patient.

So, I am wondering what the correct value for the attribute is if the image, as just above, deviates from the classical context.

Answer 1

Attribute type 2C means:

• if condition (C) is satisfied, it must be present
• if present, it may be empty (type 2)

So, the correct way: Enable it, but leave it empty (zero-length).

In addition: consider encoding your report as SR or encapsulated PDF.