Abstract: A method for providing information of the orientation of chest and abdomen images on x-ray films. The method optically reads chest image and determines whether the image is a front or side image and the orientation of this image and the handedness of the image. The method also determines where the heart is in a chest front image and the direction the patient is facing in the case of a chest side image. The method optically reads an image and determines whether the image is an abdominal image or not and, if it is, the method determines the orientation of the patient with respect to the image plane.