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I need a word for "information from a scanning as it appears in the image used for diagnostics".

My context is medical (physics).

SPECT and CT are two scanning techniques with different information that is combined into one image:

"The SPECT information is classified into five classes and matched to the CT image"

"In the resulting image the SPECT information is delineated more sharply

So, do you know a better word than "information" or "data" in this context?

EDIT: The SPECT information resembles the temperature maps overlayed on a photo in thermal scans (I don't know if this helps)

SPECT/CT

Edit 2: I realised that my question maybe needs to be a bit more precise; the projection or image is the data in the image matrix. The shape, or contour (or whatever we end up calling it) is the significant part of the image. We sometimes call these hot spots, if the measurements have high values compared to the background, or cold spots if the background is high, and there are areas with low values.

Summary

Here I list the suggestions from answers and comments with informal and formal definitions

  • Scan: the process of obtaining an image, also used as a synonym for the image
  • Projections: The SPECT raw data (one projection for each scan angle)
  • Image: The reconstructed data as a matrix of pixel values
  • Measurement: a method of determining quantity, capacity, or dimension.
  • Result: the output of a test or the interpretation of data (by e.g. a physician)
  • Contour: the edge or line that defines or bounds a shape or object.
  • Topography: The description of the regions of the body or of a body part, especially the regions of a definite and limited area of the surface.

4 Answers 4

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Google Dictionary gives a relevant definition of topography as :

topography (BIOLOGY, ANATOMY)

the distribution of parts or features on the surface of or within an organ or organism.

For example, "In the resulting image the SPECT topography is delineated more sharply".

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  • I think this is the word I should start to use. I don't think I have seen it used a lot in this context but I like the word.
    – Stefan
    Commented Sep 2, 2017 at 7:04
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Though this may be idiomatic, the phrase "test results" (or simply, "results") is widely used to refer to the data output of a test.

SPECT test results are categorized into five classes and matched to the CT image

In the image the SPECT result is delineated more sharply...

Additional edits to sample sentences were added to eliminate repetition in word use.

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  • Results could perhaps work, it is nice and simple. Let's see if there are other suggestions
    – Stefan
    Commented Aug 28, 2017 at 17:54
  • I think I will go with "shape" or "contour". "Result" does not capture that it is image data.
    – Stefan
    Commented Aug 30, 2017 at 15:35
  • @stefan: Not clear how technical you want to get, but SPECT is not image data, it is a gamma emission count, that represents a density distribution which is then visualized as an image.
    – Yorik
    Commented Sep 1, 2017 at 19:14
  • @Yorik it depends on how you define an image; I define an image (loosly) as a visual representation of data in two dimensions
    – Stefan
    Commented Sep 1, 2017 at 19:33
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At the risk of suggesting the obvious answer, the image you get out of a scanner is a scan. See the 3rd definition for the noun scan: "an image formed by scanning something".

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  • A scan or an image are synonyms in this context. See my edit 2 for more information of what I am looking for. I think that the suggestions in comments and answer here are all relevant - and maybe I just have to use a less precise word.
    – Stefan
    Commented Sep 2, 2017 at 6:38
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I'd suggest images or projections, although I think information/data would work as well.

From Wikipedia:

SPECT imaging is performed by using a gamma camera to acquire multiple 2-D images (also called projections), from multiple angles. A computer is then used to apply a tomographic reconstruction algorithm to the multiple projections, yielding a 3-D data set.

Measurements could work as well (MWD):

a figure, extent, or amount obtained by measuring

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  • I realised that my question maybe needs to be a bit more precise; the projection or image is the data in the image matrix. The shape, or contour (or whatever we end up calling it) is the significant part of the image. We sometimes call these hot spots, if there are a lot of counts compared to background, or cold spots if the background is high, and there are areas with low counts
    – Stefan
    Commented Sep 1, 2017 at 19:40

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