A technique is provided for generating scout or navigational images based
upon a series of related images. The related images are analyzed to
compute pixels of scout images, such as by determining a characteristic
of aligned pixels of each of the related images. The scout or
navigational images are then projections of the related images and
individual rows or columns of the scout images correspond to individual
images of the related set. One or more of the related images may then be
accessed by review of the scout image or images. The scout images may be
referred to in their own right for an overview of features of interest
and may be modified by a user. The technique provides for efficient time
management by allowing specific images to be identified in large image
series, and facilitates intelligent use of bandwidth for accessing
specific images in a viewer workstation.