Dimension Index Pointer Attribute
| Tag | (0020,9165) |
|---|---|
| Type | Required (1) |
| Keyword | DimensionIndexPointer |
| Value Multiplicity | 1 |
| Value Representation | Attribute Tag (AT) |
Contains the Data Element Tag that is used to identify the Attribute connected with the index. See Section C.7.6.17.1 for further explanation.
Section C.7.6.17.1
C.7.6.17.1 Dimension Indices
With the Dimension Index Sequence (0020,9222), Data Element Tags are specified that identify the indices used for a particular SOP Instance.
The actual index values for each frame in a multi-frame header are stored in a single Dimension Index Values Attribute (0020,9157) defined in the Frame Content Functional Group. For each SOP Instance this Attribute has a Value Multiplicity equal to the number of Items in the Sequence. The ordering of the Items in the Sequence defines the ordering in the Dimension Index Values Attribute: Item 1 of the Sequence relates to Value 1, Item 2 to Value 2, etc.
The Dimension Index Pointer (0020,9165) references a single Attribute that describes the actual values that define the dimension. Each Attribute referenced in the Dimension Index Sequence (0020,9222) will have an index stored in the Dimension Index Values (0020,9157) for each frame. Each index value is an ordinal number starting from 1 and monotonically increasing by 1 within the scope of a Dimension Organization UID (0020,9164). These values are independent of the actual values of the Attribute referenced by the Dimension Index Pointer (0020,9165), i.e., the index values are logical indices, rather than actual indices. Frames assigned the same index shall contain nominally the same value for the referenced Attribute. If the referenced Attribute is not present for some frames, or is present but has no value, then a single index shall be assigned to indicate the lack of the value (i.e., all such frames shall have the same index value, which is different from other index values). It is at the discretion of the SOP Instance creator whether the Attribute values are equivalent, and therefore appropriate for assignment to the same index value.
The Dimension Index Pointer (0020,9165) shall contain the Data Element Tag (gggg,eeee) of the Attribute being indexed.
The Dimension Index Pointer (0020,9165) shall not contain the Data Element Tag for Frame Content Sequence (0020,9111) or Dimension Index Values (0020,9157).
Note
-
Dimension Index Pointer (0020,9165) may point to a Sequence containing a Functional Group. In that case all the Attributes of the Sequence are associated with the index value.
-
The Dimension Index Pointer (0020,9165) may point to a Data Element Tag (gggg,eeee) that is not present for all frames of an object, or does not have a value for all frames of an object. For such frames, index values are still assigned, as described above.
-
The indices used in the Dimension Index Values (0020,9157) may or may not be identical to the value of indexed Attribute referenced by Dimension Index Pointer (0020,9165). For example, if the referenced Attribute is itself encoded in an index-like fashion (being an ordinal number starting from 1), such as In-Stack Position Number (0020,9057), then index value 1 would typically correspond to In-Stack Position Number (0020,9057) value 1. On the other hand, if the referenced Attribute encodes some physical measure, such as a time or distance, or a categorical value, such as a string describing the phase of contrast, or a more complex description such as an entire Functional Group, then the index value is independent of the encoded value.
-
The scope of the values of Dimension Index Pointer (0020,9165) is defined to be within a single Dimension Organization UID (0020,9164). If the same Dimension Organization UID (0020,9164) is present in multiple Instances (whether part of a Concatenation or not), at least one of those Instances (though not necessarily every Instance) will contain a value of 1 for the Dimension Index Values (0020,9157).
The Functional Group Pointer (0020,9167) value is the Data Element Tag (gggg,eeee) of the Functional Group Sequence that contains the Attribute being indexed. If the Dimension Index Pointer (0020,9165) contains a Data Element Tag that identifies a Functional Group Sequence then the Functional Group Pointer (0020,9167) shall not be present.
If the Dimension Index Pointer (0020,9165) Attribute contains a Private Data Element, then the Dimension Index Private Creator (0020,9213) shall contain the Private Creator of the block of Private Data Elements.
If the Functional Group Pointer (0020,9167) Attribute contains a Private Data Element, then the Functional Group Private Creator (0020,9238) shall contain the Private Creator of the block of Private Data Elements.
Note
An example of the usage of the Dimension Index Sequence (0020,9222) and Dimension Index Values (0020,9157) Attributes:
Dimension Index Sequence (0020,9222) specifies two indices:
-
Cardiac Trigger Delay Time (0020,9153)
-
Image Position (Patient) (0020,0032)
The Dimension Index Sequence (0020,9222) is filled with the following contents:
|
Item |
Attribute |
Value |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Dimension Index Pointer |
(0020,9153) |
|
Functional Group Pointer |
(0018,9118) |
|
|
… |
|
|
|
2 |
Dimension Index Pointer |
(0020,0032) |
|
Functional Group Pointer |
(0020,9113) |
|
|
… |
|
The Dimension Index Values (0020,9157) (in the Frame Content Functional Group) for each frame consists of two values:
Index of Cardiac Trigger Delay Time \ Index of Image Position
The SOP Instance creator is responsible for maintaining consistency between the actual value of the Attribute listed as the Dimension Index Pointer (0020,9165) and the corresponding value in the Dimension Index Values (0020,9157) Attribute.
See Figure C.7.6.17-1 for an illustration of this example.
Figure C.7.6.17-1. Example of Dimension Index Sequence and Dimension Index Values Attributes