ASTHECA · PRACTICAL GUIDE
Connecting scan slices with the 3D reconstruction
A navigation guide for comparing the volume and its surfaces without confusing presentation with accuracy.
Two views of one study
Slices show samples of the volume in planes; a reconstructed surface shows the boundary of a segmented region. These are complementary representations. A surface helps you explore spatial relationships, while slices let you return to the source image. A three-dimensional appearance does not replace review of the study on its own.
Locate the plane
Axial, coronal and sagittal controls move through three orientations of the volume. Check the orientation labels and slice position before comparing areas. As you move a plane within the cube, look for its counterpart in the two-dimensional view. Rotating the camera changes your viewpoint; moving a slice changes the part of the volume you are reviewing.
Distinguish the controls
Opacity helps reveal structures that overlap. Hiding a mesh clears the scene but does not delete information from the original file. Visual clipping lets you look inside the scene and does not mean that an exported file has been clipped. Read the control’s description before interpreting an area that is missing from the screen.
Understand presentation limits
Image spacing, volume resolution and segmentation affect the resulting surface. Shading can make a mesh look more continuous without adding any acquired information. If a boundary catches your attention, return to the corresponding slices and compare several positions. This guide explains navigation controls; it does not provide diagnostic criteria or confirm the anatomical accuracy of a result. Technical delivery checks do not establish clinical validity.