Rhythm Acquire Manual English
Rhythm Acquire Manual English
Rhythm Acquire Manual English
Rhythm™ RT
User’s Guide
104-4L7-J14 Rev. C
August 2013
Rhythm™ RT
X-Ray Inspection System
User’s Guide
104-4L7-J14 Rev. C
August 2013
www.ge-mcs.com
ii
Contents
Start the Rhythm RT application by double clicking on the Rhythm Acquisition application icon found on your
desktop. The Rhythm RT Administrative menu (Figure 1 below) is disabled for the user login.
2.2 Destinations
These settings are necessary for communication with your Rhythm Review workstation(s). See your Rhythm Review
User or Reference Guides for information on setting/getting the address information.
Multiple Destinations can be added to Destinations list, but only one Destination is activated at a time by checking the
checkbox of the Destination. To add a Destination in the Destinations list, click on the Add button to bring up the
Review Station form (Figure 3 on the next page). On the Review Station form, you must enter the values of the
Destination Host Name, Destination AE Title and Destination Port, based on the Rhythm Review workstation
settings.The Destination IP Address is automatically populated after the Destination Host Name is entered. If there are
multiple IP addresses associated with the Destination Host Name, the first IP address will be selected by default.
To remove, edit or test a Destination in the Destinations list, select the Destination you want to remove, edit or test and
click on the Remove, Edit or Test button respectively.
The Destination AE Title and Port must match that which is typed in the Rhythm Review workstation. (On Rhythm
Review, go to the menu Configuration>Generic>DICOM tab.)
Note: The CR Tower defaults to Port 104, which is also the default on the Rhythm Review workstation. Please change
the Rhythm Review and your Destination Port to another number, such as 105, when using the Tower.
Note: Moving from one component to another within the component grid will cause the study-ID to refresh to a new
date-time.
But the next time that component type is selected again and rescanned, a new date-time stamp will be applied, so the
new scanned images will go into a new study.
By entering a unique identifier (such as the serial number for the part in the study-ID field, when that same part is
scanned again, the new scans will be attached to the original study, in a new series. If no serial number is applicable,
but the organization of the images within studies is still desired, then a default value can be put into the Study-ID field
which will produce a similar result. For example, if always examining the same pipe at a certain location, then that
Component ID, Component Name and a default Study-ID of one will produce a series of images taken at each
date/time for that pipe all within one study.
IMPORTANT: Once the study is archived off of the Rhythm Review station, any new scans with the same Component
ID, Component Name and Study ID will still be created into a new study, as the original on the Local
Rhythm Review workstation is not available to receive additions.
2.2.2 Date-Time Stamp
When choosing the Date-time Stamp setting, the Study ID tag will be automatically filled with the time-date stamp of
the point in time that the user clicked on a component. The user can still change the Study ID tag if he/she wishes, after
the tag was automatically filled.
2.2.5 Logging
Here the user can enable the Send Logging option. If it is selected, enter the desired purge increment.
2.2.6 Theme
The user has two options:
• Standard
• Low-Light
Note: Your system hardware must be configured/installed properly for each scan device. The selection of scanner
type from the drop-down menu does not necessarily provide immediate access to another scanner type. During
installation, the correct drivers for your scanner must be installed.
This brings up the Display Tags dialog. Check or uncheck the box next to the fields to be displayed, and click the OK
button to confirm these changes, or Cancel to discard them.
Note: The X-Ray controller selected must be the same type and model as listed in the drop-down list box for
automation to function properly. Please verify with your GE service technician that your X-Ray controller is
valid for this functionality prior to selecting this option.
When the user selects this option, an Open File dialog box will appear. The user then will have to select an XML file
that holds the import data. This can include Pipe Data along with the technique information.
Rhythm RT will create a new component, technique(s) as specified in the imported file. The technique(s) will be
created and will contain the new imported pipe data if included. There is a maximum of five pipe data sets per
technique.
The file imported into Rhythm RT must have the following syntax:
<PIPE_DATASET>
. . . Repeated for as many data sets
. . . i.e., different Types with this technique
</PIPE_DATASET>
<PIPE_ATTRIBUTE TAG=“FIELD_LABEL1”>Data1</PIPE_ATTRIBUTE>
<PIPE_ATTRIBUTE TAG=“FIELD_LABEL2”>Data2</PIPE_ATTRIBUTE>
<PIPE_ATTRIBUTE TAG=“FIELD_LABEL3”>Data3</PIPE_ATTRIBUTE>
…
<PIPE_ATTRIBUTE TAG=“FIELD_LABEL20”>Data20</PIPE_ATTRIBUTE> </PIPE_TECHNIQUE>
<PIPE_TECHNIQUE>
. . . Repeated for as many components
. . . / Techniques being input
</PIPE_TECHNIQUE> </PIPE_DATA_FILE>
• Component Information — This is where an Administrator defines the component and gives descriptive
information for that component.
• Technique Information — The Administrator can enter multiple techniques (setup information, such as: kV, mA,
exposure time, etc.) for each component type.
This technique information can then be associated with a captured image in the resulting DICOM image file header,
where it will be stored with the image.
To create one or more techniques for a component, first the component information must be entered into the system.
1. Select in the list the component to be edited by clicking on it (the item will highlight).
2. Select the Edit button at the bottom of the form, then select Component Information. The form for adding/editing
component information will appear: (See the Component Information Form in the previous section.)
3. Modify fields.
4. Select OK.
The component will be modified in the list.
1. Select, in the list, the component to be deleted by clicking on it (the item will highlight).
2. Select the Delete button at the bottom of the form, then select Component Information.
3. A message box to confirm the deletion will appear. Select Yes.
The component will be deleted from the list.
1. Select in the list the component to be cloned by clicking on it (the item will highlight).
2. Select the Clone button at the bottom of the form.
The form for adding/editing component information will appear with all the information from the component being
cloned: See the Component Information Form in section 3.1.1 above.
The custom text the user enters will appear anywhere that the user-selected updatable header would appear.
1. Click the New button, then click Technique Information at the bottom of the form. A form for adding technique
information will appear:
When this option is checked, the form in Figure 13 below will be added at the end of the Technique form.
A user can enter up to five pipe data sets per technique image.
• Commonly a phantom containing objects with different properties relevant to the clinical investigations for which
the X-ray equipment is used.
• The phantoms contain, for instance, low and high contrast objects of different sizes, resolution patterns, objects for
modulation transfer function MTF measurements, contrast step wedges, etc.
• A phantom of this kind should regularly be exposed using controlled conditions in order to demonstrate deviations
from expected equipment performance.
This option will open a dialog box, where the user selects the picture that contains the setup diagram to be displayed.
Only BMP, GIF, JPG files can be accepted as a setup diagram.
After selecting the appropriate setup file, the user will be prompted to enter a Description for the selected file that iden-
tifies it to the Rhythm RT system.
This option will delete the current displayed setup image from the database.
• Focal Spot - the type of focal spot of the source (FS1, FS2, FS3, and FS4)
• Source distance - the distance between the focal point of the source and the detector
• Geometric Enlargement - the increase in the size of a feature on a radiograph that results from locating the part a
distance from the film in the exposure setup. Enlargement or magnification allows the inspector to view features
that would otherwise be too small to distinguish.
1. Select in the list the technique to be edited by clicking on it (the item will highlight).
2. Select the Edit button at the bottom of the form, then select “Technique Information”. The form for adding/editing
technique information will appear: See Technique Information Form in “Add New Technique” on page 14.
3. Modify fields.
4. Select OK.
The technique will be modified in the list.
1. Select in the list, the technique to be deleted by clicking on it (the item will highlight).
2. Select the Delete button at the bottom of the form, then select “Technique Information”.
3. A message box to confirm the deletion will appear. Select Yes.
1. Select in the list the technique to be cloned by clicking on it (the item will highlight).
2. Select the Clone button at the bottom of the form, then select “Technique Information.” Figure 19 below will
appear; the user has to select to clone the Technique to the current component. All other components appear in the
drop down list.
3. The form for adding/editing technique information will appear with all the information from the technique being
cloned: See the Technique Information Form in “Add New Technique” on page 14. Modify fields for your new
technique.
4. Select OK.
The CR100 phosphor scanner is an instrument designed to scan phosphor screens and produce high quality x-ray
images over a wide dynamic range with a high signal-to noise ratio. The scanner illuminates the screen with a laser
beam, as the screen is moved perpendicular to the laser. The emitted light is collected, converted to an electrical signal
and digitized to provide a 12-bit resolution image.
The CR100 film digitizer is designed to produce 12-bit digital images from existing film. A laser beam discretely
illuminates each point (pixel) on the film, with over 90% of the transmitted light collected and measured. As a result,
the resolution and densities in the digital image are representative of the original radiograph.
Check or make a selection to indicate whether the Shifted Density Range is On or Off. Then click OK.
When started, the application will automatically verify the connection between the workstation and the CR100 scanner.
The following events occur:
If the scanner has not been connected to the workstation or the connection fails, then the proper message will be dis-
played and the Scan button will be disabled.
4.4.2 Scan
1. Select Pixel Pitch.
2. Select Gain.
3. Select Calibration File.
4. Make sure that the phosphor plate is inserted into the scanner.
5. Click the Scan button to initialize the scan. The scanned Image will appear in the Image Queue as *.raw. (See the
section Send Image for more information on the Image Queue.)
6. Select the appropriate Technique, input a Unique Component ID (or timestamp will be used) and any Comments,
then select the *.raw image and click on the Send button to push the image to the EIM (Enterprise Inspection
Management) review station. (See Chapter 3, Using Techniques, for setting up components and their techniques.)
Chapter 5. CR Tower
The CR Tower is a digitizer for phosphor imaging plates retaining latent X-ray images. The CR Tower accepts one
cassette containing one image plate at a time. The CR Tower:
• takes the cassette containing the image plate from the cassette slot;
The CR Tower permits re-erasing an image plate before re-using it. In specific cases, this is necessary to prevent ghost
images caused by previous exposures or stray radiation from interfering with the image of interest. As many image
plates can be read into the CR Tower as needed, prior to image viewing on the RADView system. The images will be
queued and ready for viewing and saving.
Note: The RADView application must be running prior to any images plates being scanned into the CR Tower or the
digital images will not be properly queued and they will be lost.
The application, when started, will automatically start the background polling process that waits for images from the
CR Tower. The following events occur:
5.1.2 Scan
Once the above application is started and the “ready” status appears, cassettes can be scanned at the CR Tower.
The FS50 film digitizer is an instrument designed to convert radiographic film to high quality digital images at 12 bit
resolution, The 2905 Laser film Digitizer is extremely fast, scanning a 14 X 17 film to 2K resolution in a mere 7
seconds. With advanced laser and superior optic technologies, the 2905 is perfectly suited to scan all of your
department’s images, regardless of the challenges your studies present.
If Roll film is selected, the Maximum Height of the image is recalculated when a new pixel pitch is entered. Rhythm
RT will calculate the Maximum Image height from this information. The maximum Image height is based on the
following limitations:
• The number of Lines per Image cannot exceed 32767. (Note: the number of lines depends on the pixel pitch
selected.)
• The size of the Image file cannot exceed 128 MB.
If Single film is selected, the maximum image height will NOT change, but the size of the image saved to the media
will change.
• High Speed mode: Each line is scanned only once, and no averaging will be calculated.
• High Quality image mode: Each line is scanned four times and the average value will be sent over to the Rhythm
RT system
• Normal mode: Each line is scanned two times and the average value will be sent over to the Rhythm RT system
After each segment has been scanned and saved, Rhythm RT will reverse the film by some N value mm (indicated in
the GEDI_FS50.ini file) and start the next scan. This ensures no portion of the film is overlooked.The maximum height
of the image is calculated based on the pixel pitch and the width of the film inserted into the scanner.
• Cancel Scan button will cancel the scan and reverse the film back to the start position in the input tray of the
scanner.
• Eject Scan button will cancel the scan and eject the film to the output (top) tray.
6.6 Properties
This form displays the scanner Firmware description.
This is accomplished by illuminating the screen with a laser beam, as the screen is moved perpendicular to the laser.
The emitted light is collected, converted to an electrical signal and digitized to provide a 16-bit resolution image.
A laser beam discretely illuminates each point (pixel) on the film. As a result, the resolution and densities in the digital
image are representative of the original radiograph.
(a) (b)
Figure 26: CR50P (a) and CRx25P (b) Scanner
1. Corrosion Mode: IPC2, 134mu pixel, IR192 - 50% D7, X-ray 25% D7
2. General Purpose: IPS, 100mu pixel, IR192 - 100% D7; X-ray 50% D7
3. Weld: IPS, 50mu pixel, IR192 - 50% D4
4. Weld small WT: IPU 25mu pixel, SE75 - 100% D4
Xml files provided for the preset will be placed in the AppModeFiles folder located one folder below where Rhythm is
installed. The calibration files that are created for each mode shall be renamed to the same name as the Application
Mode found in the dropdown, with the .kor suffix, e.g.,
Whether selecting one preset in Basic Mode or each of the following - Resolution, Gain and a Calibration File in
Advanced, an Initialization or INI file (Figure 30 on page 34) will be created.
• High Gain
• Medium Gain
• Low Gain
• Have the same serial number as the serial number of the scanner attached to the system
The user should select the directory where the calibration file(s) are located. All the calibration files in the directory
chosen will appear in the drop-down menu in the calibration frame. The user should choose the proper calibration file
from that list.
1. Press either SCAN or Continuous SCAN. The scanner will set up with the current settings (Status - Waiting for
plate)
2. The user should place the plate on the scanner and slide it into place. The scanner will start to scan (Status -
Scanning), and the image will be processed (Status - Processing data.)
3. Once the image is fully acquired (Status - Connected), the plate will be ejected from the scanner.
4. If the SCAN button was used, then the scanner will be reset for the next scan. If the Continuous SCAN button was
selected, then the scanner will wait for the user to insert another plate.
Note: If the acquired image has some pixels with values over 200 and some under 200, then the pixel values under
200 will be raised to 200.
If the acquired image has all values of the pixels under 200, then the image will be disregarded and the user
will be given a message indicating that the exposure was not high enough to be recorded as an image.
The user can click Cancel SCAN at any time to cancel the current scan.
• When the user clicks on the Cancel button, the Advanced Options window will close and the user would lose all
the modifications that he/she did on that window.
• When the user clicks on the Reset button, all the values on that window will reset to their original values that were
there when the software was installed on the system.
• When the user clicks on the Save button, the Advanced Options window will close, saving all the values that the
user modified when that window was open.
• Calibration
• Eraser setting
• Gain setting
When this checkbox is checked, binning will be turned on. Binning will result in a pitch of the plate transport that is
only half of the pixel size; i.e. the pixel size in the direction of the scanning laser spot (fastscan) will be kept constant,
but the pixel size in the direction of the plate transport (slowscan) will be half of that in the fastscan direction.
Subsequent 2x1 binning results back in square pixels of the originally selected size.
This binning option is useful to avoid undersampling when a pixel size is selected that is larger than the basic spatial
resolution of the image plate/scanner combination, e.g., pixel size >40 µm for IPU and pixel size >80 µm for IPS. The
Binning option will result in a better SNR value, but also in a lower throughput.
This subwindow allows you to select and view a custom parameter file. This file contains custom parameter settings
that will override the selected parameters. The custom parameter file is XML file (extension .xml).
Several files are included in the installation. The included files are intended for situations that require horizontal and
vertical sizes to be exactly equal, e.g., for compliance with EN14784-1.
The 25mu and 50mu pixel size correspond to the modes that were BAM certified. Two additional pixel sizes, 40mu and
100mu, are also included. For each pixel size, there are 3 files corresponding to low gain (450pmt), medium gain
(600pmt) and high gain (800pmt).
Clicking on a specific file will select this file. Selection is finalized by clicking on Open, then the window closes
automatically. The selected file may be viewed by clicking on View. This will open the XML file and the customer
parameter settings may be inspected.
When the user clicks the Calibrate Scanner button, the calibration instructions will appear; when the user clicks the
Done button, the calibration utility will launch.
The user should choose option number one, then slide the exposed plate into the scanner. When the plate is scanned, the
utility will ask the user to press any key to proceed. When the calibration is done, the utility will display the final result.
If the calibration is successful, the utility will ask the user to set the calibration file current. If the calibration is not
successful, the utility will display the reason for failure, which could range from a noisy image to an overexposed or
underexposed plate.
After a successful calibration, the calibrated file will be saved in the same directory as Rhythm RT or the
scanx_dlls\Version60 or scanx_dlls\Version61 folder in the Rhythm RT directory, depending on what scanner type is
used. The format of the calibration file will be as follows:
<Serial Number of the Device> <Space> <Year - Month - Day> <Space> <Hour - Minute - Second> <.kor>
Chapter 8. CRxFlex
8.1 Overview
The CRxFlex is a CR scanner which connects to the host PC over a FireWire (IEEE-1394) connection. This scanner
operates via TWAIN protocol. The appropriate TWAIN drivers must be installed before using this device with Rhythm
RT.
After a scan is complete, the imaging plate will be automatically erased and loaded back into the cassette. The cassette
will be unlocked from the scanner when the scan cycle is complete.
IP Sensitivity - this value is used to account for minor variations between screen batches. If you know this number
enter it here and it will help ensure optimum image quality. If unknown use value of 1000 to utilize default setting.
IP Adapter - if the optional 14"x17” (35CMx43CM) cassette with special IP insert carrier is used, user should check
this box and select the IP Adapter Type from the list. The software will crop out the areas of interest and create separate
image files for each area. This option only has an effect when scanning 14"x17” (35CMx- 43CM) cassettes. Do not
select this option if you are not using the special cassette with inserts, as cropping will have an undesirable effect on
your output image.
Custom / RFID - custom allows user to choose scan resolution and IP sensitivity manually. RFID will use values
pre-programmed on the cassette RFID chip
8.4 Buttons
• Scan - initiates the scan process.
• Select Source - selects the current TWAIN device. User should select NDT_5176 option for CRxFlex
The detector of the DXR system is an imaging device that uses flat-panel, cesium-iodide and gadolinium oxide
sulphide detectors that GE developed. High fidelity imaging capabilities are the result. These capabilities are used to
supply a complete imaging system for non-destructive industrial inspections. This imaging system has significant
benefits in performance and sensitivity compared to conventional film-based or image-intensified radiography. The
detector, with its associated data acquisition hardware and software, is the core of the DXR System.
All of the DXR systems provide static images. Some DXR systems, such as the DXR-250RT system, can supply static
digital radiography (DR) images, or real-time digital images at 30 frames per second (fps).
Double click on the desktop icon for the Rhythm DXR Acquire application. The DXR window will appear on the
upper right hand side of the main form. If this is not the case, click on the Preferences icon and select the DXR radio
button on the Scanner Type group, then choose the correct detector from the available detectors on the toolbar of the
main form.
• The acquisition resolution for the detector. There is only one resolution per detector, except for the case of the
DXR250RT+ detector, which can operate with two different resolutions.
• Detector Gain (e/c): Detector gain is defined by electron per count.
In your DXR area, the DXR Mode selected should read Real-time. Input the number of frames per second you would
like your acquisition to run.
Use the forward (>>) or the end (>|) buttons to move back towards the current acquisition. The images that appear on
the screen will be saved in the order of their appearance.
9.4.5 Record
In real-time mode, you also have the option to record up to 30 secs of image acquisition, depending on the detector type
and installation settings. The recording will be segmented in files where each file will not exceed 180 MB. The amount
of frames per file will depend on the frame size and the frequency of acquisition.
To record, select the Record option from the drop down listbox.
Options:
• DICOM Multi-Frame Image – will create a DICOM file that will play in Cine mode
• click the button to draw an ROI on the image to Auto Window/Level based on that area of the image.
• Zoom – To zoom:
• use the middle mouse wheel over the image and scroll OR
• use the slide bar on the Tools panel OR
• use the option buttons for Fit to Window, 1x, 2x, 3x, 4x.
• Rotate – Click the Rotate button and the image will rotate to the right 90 degrees.
• Invert – Click the checkbox to Invert the image
• Mirror – Click the checkbox to Mirror the image
The Pixel Value (Level) appears along with the pixel location under the mouse pointer. A functioning tag is displayed
under the pixel value tag, that shows whether the pixel is a functioning pixel, or an interpolated pixel according to the
ASTM E2597-07. (This feature is only available when a bad pixel correction has been applied.)
Click the Administrative Options button and the form shown in Figure 54 below will appear:
If the bad pixel calibration files do not exist, or they are not associated with the Detector serial number defined, then a
message box will appear asking the user to calibrate the detector.
9.5.3g Reminders
Check the Prompt for reminders box to turn the option on. Then set up the recurrence time for each. Recurrence can be
Daily, Weekly or Monthly. Then you can pick the day and time of day to do the action.
9.5.4a Binning
The binning section enables the user to turn on the binning for all the Acquire images (Real-Time and Static).
• 2X Binning:
In this operation, each 4 pixels are added together —2 horizontal and 2 vertical— and the result will replace those
pixels in the displayed image.
• 4X Binning:
In this operation, each 16 pixels are added together — 4 horizontal and 4 vertical— and the result will replace those
pixels in the displayed image.
• 8X Binning:
In this operation, each 64 pixels are added together —8 horizontal and 8 vertical — and the result will replace those
pixels in the displayed image.
The settings in these group boxes will be the default settings for the DXR exposure settings when the Rhythm RT
software package loads in the limited user mode.
These settings are generally set up by the Admin user, so the limited user always uses these options unless overridden
by the following two methods:
• “Allow limited user to change exposure settings” option is checked in the General tab: In this case, the last settings
used by the limited user will be reloaded when the Rhythm RT software package starts.
• “Override general DR exposure settings with the current technique settings” option is checked in the Acquisition
tab: In this case the exposure settings will be overridden by the settings in the Technique database (discussed in
more detail below).
9.5.4c Disable the Offset Difference Test During Pixel Interpolation Analysis
This option, if checked, will disable the offset difference test during the creation of the bad pixel map (Interpolated
pixel map). This will result in a lower number of bad pixels reported. However, this option is for a very specific
application and should not be used unless the user speaks with the GE Measurement & Control Applications team.
9.5.4d Add 275 (e/c), 550 (e/c), 1100 (e/c), 8800 (e/c) Gain Options in Real Time Mode
This option will only be available for the DXR250RT detector type. It will add the following detector gain settings in
Real-time mode: 275(e/c), 550 (e/c), 1100 (e/c), 8800(e/c).
9.5.4e Override General DR Exposure Settings with the Current Technique Settings
This option will override the DXR exposure settings with the setting associated with the Technique database.
2. Modify the exposure settings as shown in Figure 64 below for the Static Acquisition mode, or in Figure 65 below
for the Real-time mode.
3. When the technique is selected in the Rhythm RT Acquisition tab, if any user (limited or Admin) clicks on the
Acquire button, the exposure settings saved in the selected technique will be loaded to override the exposure
settings loaded in Rhythm DR.
• Manufacturer recommended calibration —This method of calibration is based on the custom algorithms developed
by General Electric for the specific detector type being calibrated. GE Measurement & Control recommends that
its customer base use this calibration method, as it is developed specifically for this type of detectors.
• ASTM Calibration method — Using this method of calibration is based on the algorithms developed by the ASTM
committee according to E2597-07. This calibration is meant to be used as a general guideline and a comparing tool.
GE Measurement & Control recommends that its customer base use the “Manufacturer recommended” method of
calibration.
Rhythm RT supports two methods of calibration:
• Manual Calibration — In this mode, Rhythm RT will not be communicating with the X-ray controllers. The user
must set up the exposure techniques on the x-ray controller manually. To use manual calibration:
1. Log on to Windows as an Administrator.
2. Start Rhythm RT.
3. Select Rhythm DR, and enter Administrative Options (Figure 54 on page 56).
4. Select the General tab
5. Uncheck the Link to X-ray Controller.
6. Uncheck the Link to Shutter Controller.
• Automated Calibration — In this method Rhythm RT will communicate with the X-ray controller and the Shutter
controller if they exist. Rhythm RT will set up the X-ray controller settings based on the user entries in the
“Calibration Exposure settings” in the Admin options of Rhythm RT (figure 49f). The mA and kV settings entered
by the user should correspond with the X-ray exposure settings that would bring the detector just below its
saturation value. The saturation value for the detector varies; however, it is generally above 13000 pixel value
count.
To use automated calibration:
Rhythm RT will take three acquisition sequences while the X-rays are turned off (Dark Shots):
If you have selected Link to X-ray controller in the Admin menu, then the X-rays will start automatically, and the
window above will not appear.
When the X-rays start and stabilize, click OK (Figure 73 above). A four-frame acquisition will occur, called “Light Lo
air shots.”
After the acquisition window automatically terminates, the program performs several calculations (Figure 74).
Rhythm RT will measure the average pixel value of the middle 200 x 200 pixel of every image acquired to be called
“Average pixel value per image”. The program then calculates the average of the “Average pixel value per image” for
all the images acquired in a calibration sequence, and labels it “Average Pixel Value in the center of the detector”.
Rhythm RT will display a message if the “Average Pixel Value in the center of the detector” is below or above a set
value, based on the type of detector.
3. You can repeat the last acquisition step, cancel the calibration, or continue to the next step despite the warning.
If you have enabled the automated calibration option, then after the termination of the acquisition window, another
acquisition window will appear.
A 16 frame offset acquisition will occur. This acquisition is called “Light Med offset shots.”
After the acquisition window automatically terminates, the program performs several calculations (Figure 75).
Rhythm RT will measure the average pixel value of the middle 200 x 200 pixel of every image acquired, called
“Average pixel value per image.” Then the program calculates the average of the “Average pixel value per image” for
all the images acquired in a calibration sequence, called “Average Pixel Value in the center of the detector”.
5. Rhythm RT will display a message if the “Average Pixel Value in the center of the detector” is below or above a set
value based on the type of detector. You must repeat the last acquisition step, cancel the calibration, or continue to
the next step despite the warning (as shown in Figure 75 above).
If automated calibration option is enabled, then after the termination of the acquisition window, another acquisition
window will appear.
A 3 frame offset acquisition will occur. This acquisition is called “Light Hi offset shots”.
6. If the automated calibration is disabled, then Rhythm RT will ask you to start the X-ray at the exposure settings
needed to reach detector saturation levels; if not, then the PC will automatically start the X-rays at the mA input on
the Admin options
A 3 frame Air acquisition will occur. This acquisition is called “Light Hi Air shots”. After the acquisition window
automatically terminates, the program performs several calculations (Figure 76 on the next page).
Rhythm RT will measure the average pixel value of the middle 200 x 200 pixel of every image acquired, called
“Average pixel value per image”. The program also calculates the average of the “Average pixel value per image” for
all the images acquired in a calibration sequence, called “Average Pixel Value in the center of the detector”. Rhythm
RT will display a message if the “Average Pixel Value in the center of the detector” is below or above a set value based
on the type of detector.
7. You must repeat the last acquisition step, cancel the calibration, or continue to the next step despite the warning.
Once this step is complete, the summary window appears as shown in Figure 77 on the next page.
The last line in the above window lists the isolated and total numbers of bad pixels reported for the Rhythm RT
software package.
1. Select the ASTM Calibration method by clicking the ASTM option button as shown above.
2. To begin calibration, turn off the X-rays as shown in Figure 79 below.
Rhythm RT will take a 120-second series of acquisitions while X-rays are turned off (Figure 80 on the next page).
3. Start the X-rays Acquisition at one-half (50%) of the exposure level necessary to reach the detector saturation
levels.
Note: If Link to X-ray controller is selected from the Admin menu, then the X-rays will start automatically, and the
window above will not appear.
Rhythm RT will measure the average pixel value of the middle 200 x 200 pixel of every image acquired, described as
“Average pixel value per image”
Rhythm RT will calculate the average of the “Average pixel value per image” for all the images acquired in a
calibration sequence, called “Average Pixel Value in the center of the detector”.
Rhythm RT will display a message if the “Average Pixel Value in the center of the detector” is below or above a set
value based on the type of detector.
5. You can repeat the last acquisition step, cancel the calibration, or continue to the next step despite the warning. If
automated calibration option is enabled, then after the termination of the acquisition window, another acquisition
window will appear.
6. If the automated calibration is disabled, then Rhythm RT asks you to start the X-ray at 10% of the exposure settings
needed to reach detector saturation levels. If not, then the PC will automatically start the X-rays at 10% of the mA
input on the Admin options.
A 120 second series of Air acquisitions will occur. This acquisition is called “ASTM_10P”.
After the acquisition window automatically terminates, Rhythm RT will measure the average pixel value of the middle
200 x 200 pixel of every image acquired, described as “Average pixel value per image”.
The program will calculate the average of the “Average pixel value per image” for all the images acquired in a
calibration sequence, described as “Average Pixel Value in the center of the detector”. Rhythm RT will display a
message if the “Average Pixel Value in the center of the detector” is below or above a set value based on the type of
detector.
7. You can repeat the last acquisition step, cancel the calibration, or continue to the next step despite the warning.
After the acquisition window automatically terminates, the program performs several calculations (Figure 83).
Rhythm RT will measure the average pixel value of the middle 200 x 200 pixel of every image acquired, called
“Average pixel value per image” Then the program calculates the average of the “Average pixel value per image” for
all the images acquired in a calibration sequence, called “Average Pixel Value in the center of the detector”.
Rhythm RT will display a message if the “Average Pixel Value in the center of the detector” is below or above a set
value based on the type of detector.
9. You can repeat the last acquisition step, cancel the calibration, or continue to the next step despite the warning.
10. If you are satisfied with the acquisition, keep the power ON to the detector, and turn off X-rays. Then wait for 30
minutes under the previous conditions. The 30 minute wait allows you to adhere to the E2597-07 Specification of
the ASTM standard.
11. Once the 30 minutes expire, click the Continue button. A 120 second series of Offset acquisitions will occur,
called “ASTM_LagOffset”.
12. If the automated calibration is disabled, then Rhythm RT asks you to start the X-ray at the exposure settings needed
to reach 80% of the level needed to reach the detector saturation levels. If not, then the PC will automatically start
the X-rays at 80% of the mA input on the Admin options. That acquisition will take 5 minutes (300 seconds) to
complete (Figure 84 on the next page).
13. When the acquisition sequence is done, do not turn off the X-rays. The following window will appear (Figure 85
below).
14. If you are satisfied with the exposure, click Continue. Then turn off the X-rays after 5 seconds, or at the
appearance of the first acquired frame, if the frame time is more than 5 seconds. A 70-second series of Air
Exposures will start. Once the exposure is complete, Rhythm RT will analyze the frames and display the results in
the Summary window (Figure on the next page).
1. To calibrate for Gain offset, click on Create gain and offset table either for Manufacturer recommended
calibration or ASTM calibration (Figure 87 below and Figure 88 on the next page).
A series of 20 frames will be acquired while X-rays are off, called “Offset Calibration Shots”.
After the acquisition window automatically terminates, the program performs several calculations (Figure 91 below).
Rhythm RT will measure the average pixel value of the middle 200 x 200 pixel of every image acquired, called
“Average pixel value per image”. The program will then calculate the average of the “Average pixel value per image”
for all the images acquired in a calibration sequence, called “Average Pixel Value in the center of the detector”.
Rhythm RT will display a message if the “Average Pixel Value in the center of the detector” is below or above a set
value, based on the type of detector.
• Two or more connected bad pixels are called a cluster. Pixels are called connected if they are connected by a side
or a corner (8-neighborhood possibilities). Pixels which do not have 5 or more good neighborhood pixels are
called cluster kernel pixels (CKP).
• A cluster without any CKP is well correctable and is labeled an irrelevant cluster. The name of the cluster is the
size of a rectangle around the cluster and number of bad pixels in the irrelevant cluster, for example, “2x3
cluster4”.
• A cluster with CKP is labeled a relevant cluster. The name of the cluster is similar to the irrelevant cluster; with
the exception that the prefix “rel” is added and the number of CKPs is provided as a suffix, for example, “rel3x4
cluster7-2”, where 7 is the total number of bad pixels and 2 are those in this group that are CKPs.
• A bad line segment is a special irrelevant cluster with 10 or more bad pixels connected in a line (row or column)
where no more than 10% of this line has adjacent bad pixels; no pixel in the bad line segment shall be a CKP. The
name of a bad line segment will have the word “line” substituted for the word “cluster”, for example, “1x256
Line256” or “2x24 Line26”.
Figure 94 below lists examples of how each pixel can be named and classified according to the ASTM standard
E2597-07
Figure 94: Naming and Classifying Pixels (Reprinted, with permission, from ASTM E2597 - 07e1 Standard
Practice for Manufacturing Characterization of Digital Detector Arrays, copyright ASTM International, 100
Barr Harbor Drive, West Conshohocken, PA 19428)
• Specific ID to identify that specific cluster (located in the drop down menu)
This map (Figure 96 above) will show all the bad pixels in the bad pixel map. When moving the curser on the map, the
ASTM name of the bad pixel will be displayed on the left of the window under the pixel X and Y locations.
9.7 Validation
The validation process makes a set of dark images, a set of air images, and then acquires images with the validation
phantom in place.
To do a validation, click on Administrative Options. From the Administrative Options form (Validation tab), enter the
appropriate technique information (Source distance, mA, kV and Filter Material). Then click Validate Panel.
Go through the validation following the instruction screens that will appear.
The phantom should be put directly against the detector with the round portion of the phantom aligned with the center
of the active detector area. The phantom housing grid outside of the round portion is also used in the validation, so an
equal amount must be usable on either side of the round portion. The GE logo on the phantom should be upright on the
detector.
If the validation is successful, the above form (Figure 102) will appear. If the validation fails, another form will appear,
detailing the reason the validation failed.
If the contrast in the phantom images is not sufficient for the software to find the phantom features, problems with
validation can occur. The situations that follow can affect the contrast:
• The x-rays are not set correctly, if the operator manually controls the x-rays
• The phantom is put upside down, or not correctly aligned with the center.
Please consult the ERESCO operation manual for all relevant equipment safety and operational instructions.
Due to ERESCO MF4 safety requirements, the user will be prompted to start X-rays manually when this controller is
selected in “Preferences”. The following dialog is displayed whenever the Eresco MF4 X-ray unit is started from the
Rhythm RT Acquisition interface.
At this point, the user must click the OK button on the dialog for Rhythm to confirm that all cardinal safety rules of
field radiography have been considered and the user will be required to press the X-RAY-ON button on the controller
panel in order to energize the X-ray unit.
IMPORTANT: Whenever the ERESCO is ready for operation, the X-RAY ON button on the ERESCO controller is
illuminated.
9.9.2 Configuration
To configure ERESCO communication settings, click on the toolbox icon in the X Ray Central pane.
ERESCO
Communicator
settings
Administrator
Options
Make sure that the communication settings on the ERESCO as well as on the host PC side are corresponding. A
connectivity test can be executed by clicking Test Connection.
In order to use the exposure settings from the components database, click Overwrite General DR exposure with the
current technique settings. Otherwise the exposure settings from the “Static Acquisition” mode will be taken. They
are different ways to enter exposure times, depending on the configuration
In the event the user attempts to enter some exposure time which is not evenly divisible by six, a dialog prompting the
user to enter a valid exposure time will appear, and no changes will be saved until the user complies.
9.9.5 Acquiring an Image (Synchronized Acquisition with Eresco MF4 and Portable DXR Detectors)
Depending on the selected configuration, a DXR acquisition can be executed based on technique information taken
from the components database or DXR technique data from the Static Acquisition window. Just as with Technique
entry, while the Eresco MF4 controller is selected in Preferences, the Exposure Time (s) will only accept 1/10 of a
minute entries as valid.
Click on the Acquire button to start the Acquisition. An invalid entry will cause the same error dialog seen when
entering an invalid exposure time to appear, and the Static Acquisition will abort.
Due to the ERESCO MF4 safety requirement, after clicking Acquire, the user will be prompted to start the X-rays
manually from the controller.
The user must click OK on the safety dialog to confirm that all safety measures are taken and must then press
X-RAY-ON at the ERESCO to start X-ray and proceed with the acquisition.
IMPORTANT: The Image Acquisition will be synchronized with the ERESCO exposure. In order to cover X-ray ramp
up time / X-ray shut-down time the actual X-RAY ON time will be approximately 24 seconds longer than
the selected exposure time for the image acquisition. Hence, a total of 24 seconds will be added to DXR
exposure time. Once the image acquisition is completed, the X-ray operation will be switched off by
Rhythm RT.
In addition, the pre-set ERESCO exposure timer will make sure that the exposure will be terminated once the counter
expires.
The Service Mode prevents Acquire from controlling the starting of X-Ray equipment, even if an X-Ray controller is
selected. This needs to be enabled as a safety measure in the case someone is troubleshooting a system remotely. Upon
enabling Service Mode, the user is notified of the implications of this option.
In a similar fashion, when starting Acquire and an X-Ray controller is selected, the user will be notified that automated
X-Ray control is enabled.
This notification is also displayed when the user first enables an X-Ray controller in the Preferences dialog.
The user has up to 10 study and instance tags each. If the user does not wish to use all of the tags, it is possible to hide
tags from view.
Additionally, the description of the study and instance tags can be customized. To change the description, right click the
description and select Column Properties. This brings up the Edit Column Properties dialog. The user can right click
the label on the Display Tags dialog and on the main form.
From here you can change the description. Click Default to restore the original description. Alter the description and
click OK to save the change, or click Cancel to discard the change.
Under the X-ray Automation pane, select the X-ray controller from the drop-down list, and set the focal spot for that
X-ray controller.
• The settings shown in Figure 123 above should match the settings set on the X-ray system.
• The Feedback setting (ms) should be bigger than the Time Out setting (ms)
• The Default button will reset the communication settings to the default settings.
• Apply Port Settings button will save the modification that the user changed.
• Test Connection button will attempt to communicate with the X-ray controller according to the settings specified
in this form.
When the user starts an acquisition, the X-rays will start; once the kV, mA reaches the desired value after the X-ray
tube ramps up, the DR Acquisition will start.
2. Power on Panel. If it is not on, then run Rhythm RT and select DXR250C-W from the Scanner menu list in toolbar.
The host PC now should be connected to panel and the Temperature icon (Figure 132) should display on the top
left corner of DXR250C-W control (wait for a few seconds if the Temperature icon doesn't appear yet). Click on
the Admin button to open the Administrator form, then select the 250W tab. The Disable Wireless button should
be enabled on the tab page. Click on the Enable Ad hoc button to enable wireless Ad hoc mode (Figure 133), The
Enable Ad hoc button should display as “Enable AP” after the panel is reconnected. If you don't see the Enable
Ad hoc button, it means that the current wireless mode is already the Ad hoc mode, so omit this step, then close the
Administrator form.
6. In the Wireless Network Properties dialog, on the Association tab page, enter MAC address (from Step 1) of the
wired network card currently connected to Panel in Network name (SSID) text field. Check the checkbox on
Connect even if this network is not broadcasting. Set the Network Authentication to Open, Data Encryption to
Disabled. Check the checkbox This is a computer-to-computer (ad hoc) network; wireless access points are
not used (Figure 136). On the Connection tab, check the checkbox Connect when this network is in range
(Figure 137). Click OK when finished.
7. Set the wireless network connection IP address to 192.168.1.46 as well (Figure 9.10.2.2.1)
8. Right click on Wireless icon on system tray, click on View Available Wireless Networks menu item to bring up
the Wireless Network Connection form (Figure 138). Select the network you just added, then click on Connect to
initiate connection to the panel. The host should be connected to Panel (Figure 139), and the Temperature icon and
Wireless icon should appear on the DXR250C-W control (Figure 140). If you don't see the icons within a few
seconds, click Ping Panel in the Context menu to verify the connection.
2. Power on Panel. If it is not on, then run Rhythm RT and select DXR250C-W from the Scanner menu list in toolbar.
The host PC now should be connected to Panel and the Temperature icon (Figure 143) should display on the top
left corner of the DXR250C-W control (wait for a few seconds if Temperature icon doesn't appear yet). Click on
the Admin button to open the Administrator form, then select the 250W tab. The Disable Wireless button should
be enabled on the tab page. Click on the Enable AP button to enable wireless Access Point mode (Figure
9.10.2.3.4). The Enable AP button should display as Enable Ad hoc after Panel is reconnected. If you don't see
the Enable AP button, it means that the current wireless mode is already AP mode, so omit this step and close the
Administrator form.
3. Disconnect the network cable from Panel side after the Administrator form is closed, then connect the cable to
Access Point. (Make sure Access Point power is turned on.)
4. Follow your Access Point manufacturer instructions to login its configuration page using web browser. (If AP's
default IP address is 192.168.0.1, then you need to set the wired network to 192.168.0.46 temporarily and set it
back to 192.168.1.46 when you have finished.) Also, AP's default IP address needs to be set to 192.168.1.1
(Figure 145) and DHCP settings are set to the values shown in Figure 146. Set the Access Point's Network
Name-SSID (Figure 147 on page 119) to MAC address (from Step 1) of wired network interface of your PC on
Wireless Settings page. Select WPA/WPA2 -Personal with AES as Encryption and 26 ones as password on
Wireless Settings page (Figure 9.10.2.3.8)
9. On the Wireless Network Connection Properties dialog, click on Wireless Networks Tab. Check the checkbox
for Use Windows to configure the My Wireless Network settings, then click on Add… button to add a new
network (Figure 150).
• Normal
• ROI
• Binning
For each image acquisition mode, calibration files (Pixel map, Gain and Offset maps) generated from Step 3 can be
applied to it during image acquisition. There is currently only one default Gain for this detector, which is 4400 e/ct. The
resolution for basic image acquisition is 200 micron, although resolution can be changed to 400 micron when it is used
in Binning mode in Advance image acquisition. For Static mode, the image exposure time is set between 200
milliseconds to 120 seconds. For Real-time mode, the number of frames per second is set between 0.2 to 5 frames.
These values will be changed when Binning mode is used (See Section 5).
• EMI Correction - This setting is to turn On/Off EMI correction on acquired images. When EMI is turned on, you
can also specify three EMI related parameters or use their default values. These three EMI related parameters are:
• Amplitude Threshold - RT attempts to remove all noise signals with amplitude above the specific threshold.
• Frequency LSL - RT attempts to remove all noise signals with frequency greater than specific lower level
frequency threshold.
• Frequency USL - RT attempts to remove all noise signals with frequency less than specific upper level
frequency threshold.
• ROI - Detector only reads out center portion(512x512) of acquired image and sends the image data to host when
ROI is set to On.
• Binning - Detector sums up every two rows and two columns as single row and column. As a result, it sends out
512x512 image data to host when Binning is set. Note that the pixel count of Binning mode is about twice as much
as normal mode.
• Synchronize Pulse Source - When it is set, detector and host will use synchronous communication during image
acquisition. The sequences of synchronous communication are:
a. Host requests detector to start image acquisition.
b. Detector acknowledges it and replies back to host that it is ready for x-ray exposure.
c. Host receives the detector reply and notifies users to start x-ray with a message box.
d. When exposure is complete, the user closes the message box and the host then notifies the detector that x-ray
exposure is completed.
e. Detector acknowledges the exposure completed notification, reads out image and sends the image data to host.
• No Activity Timeout - It is used to set the detector's no-activity-timeout property. When the specific timeout is
elapsed, the detector will shut down itself if it is powered by a battery. The default value is set to 3600 seconds, the
valid values are between 0 -7200 seconds.
• Active Power Saving mode - When this option is set, panel will go to Power Save mode (Figure 162 on page 128)
to save battery power every time when it finishes image acquisition after DXR Viewer window is closed. Note that
if detector is not powered by battery, this option is ignored and detector is always in full power mode. If the
detector is in power save mode when user starts an image acquisition, the detector will be automatically brought up
to full power and it will takes about 15-20 seconds for detector to go from power save mode to full power mode.
The user will be notified by displaying the status in DXR Viewer title bar during this power transient period.
• Disable Wireless - This is used to disable wireless inside the detector. After detector wireless is disabled, detector
cannot connect to host using Wi-Fi AP/Ad hoc mode. If detector wireless is already disabled, then this button is
disabled
• Enable AP/Ad hoc - This is used to toggle detector Wi-Fi setting between access point mod or Ad-hoc mode
• Detector Signature - It queries detector signature and displays the content of detector signature
• Voltage Test - This is used to run voltage sensors test in detector and display all the voltage sensors results when
test is done
• BIST Test - This is used to run detector build-in-self test and display the test result when it is completed
• View Log - View all entries logged by Rhythm RT. The log file will be archived as old log file when it reaches 100
MB in file size or an error occurred in xml syntax in the log file, then a new log file will be created
• Ping Detector - This tool is used to check the connection between detector and host
• Ping Access - this Point tool is used to check the connection between Access Point and host
• Network Connection - This tool is used to open the window network connections dialog
• Restart Service - This tool is used to restart the background service process which initiates connection to detector
and monitors detector status such as detector temperature, wireless strength and remaining battery power
• Detector Signature - This tool is used to query the detector signature. You can get the detector signature from
Administrative Options->250C-W Settings -> Panel Signature.
• Wireless Status - This tool is used to query the current wireless setting in the detector.
• Power Save Mode - This tool is used to bring the detector to Power Save mode. Note that it is only available when
the detector is powered by battery (Figure 9.10.5.2.2)
• Reboot Detector - This tool is used to reboot the detector.
Images are received at Rhythm RT through the Scan process. Once the image is received, it will appear in the Image
Queue. The Image Queue area is where images are managed once received at Rhythm RT.
To send an image, click on the image in the queue and click on the Send Image button.
If Auto Send is enabled, then the images will appear in the queue and be automatically sent to the Review station. If
Auto Delete is enabled, then the image will be removed once sent to the Review station.
Note: This process might take place quickly, so that the appearance of the image in the queue is not noticeable.
If Auto Delete is not enabled, the image will stay in the queue after it is sent, though the extension of the image will
change from .raw to .snt to indicate the image has indeed been sent to the Review station. The image can be manually
deleted once verified at the Review station.
10.1.1 Study ID
The Study-ID is the identifier that is associated with your specific part. The Component ID is the “part type” identifier,
where this ID is the actual Serial # or other identifier on the part that uniquely identifies it.
For greater image management in Local Components View, the Component ID is the main identifier; within
Component ID will be found the studies by Study-ID, then within Study-ID the series of images by technique.
When the image is acquired, it will automatically be sent to the Review station selected in System Configuration, with
the currently selected technique information associated.
Note: The correct technique must be selected prior to scanning when Auto Send is enabled. If Auto Delete (see
“Enable Auto Delete” on the next page) is disabled, then the image will still appear in the queue with a .snd
extension, else it will be deleted automatically.
2. Select Yes to enable. When the image is sent (either manually or automatically), the image file will be deleted from
the acquisition temp location.
Note: Once the image is deleted, it cannot be re-sent. If for some reason your network is not behaving properly and
you are concerned your images are not reaching the Review station, you would want to leave the Auto Delete
feature disabled to verify that the image has been received before deleting from the acquisition station.
• zoom
10.2.3 Zooming
Adjust the slidebar to zoom from 1 to 10 times, Press 1X, 2X, 3X, 4X buttons to zoom 1, 2, 3, 4 times.
• Selected Fields: this listbox holds the fields that will appear on the Query form when the user attempt to create a
Query for the components grid. The order in which these fields appear on the Query form resembles the order in
which they appear on the selected Fields list box. The user should use UP and Down buttons to specify the order in
which the search fields will appear on the Query form.
• Available fields: This listbox holds all the fields that are available to be on the Query Form. The Reset button will
reset both list boxes to their original content when the Query Properties form was loaded.
After the Mobile ID utility is launched, you must select which type of scanner you will be reading, or for which you
will initialize cassettes. Although the RFID tag is the same, the data is formatted differently, so the proper format must
be selected prior to use. The cassette format is selected in the menu File->Cassette Format.
12.2Initialize Cassette
This tab is only available on the CRxFlex. It is used to write information to a cassette chip that is not normally
changing often, such as IP Serial Number, or IP type. It is meant to be done at time an IP is mated with a cassette. To
initialize the cassette, enter the data, click the Initialize Cassette button, then bring the cassette within range of the
Mobile ID USB device. You will hear a beep when initialization is complete.
12.3Write Cassette
On CRxTower, this accomplishes the same thing as Initialize Cassette. To write the cassette, enter the data, click the
Write Cassette button, then bring the cassette within range of the Mobile ID USB device. You will hear a beep when it
is complete.
The acquisition process is a sequence of procedural steps that has as its result one or more radiographic images.
Active
A currently selected form (window) or icon noted by a change in color of title or label. A window or icon must be
active to register commands and keystrokes. An active window sits on top of multiple windows.
Air Image
The radiographic image that is the result when the system reads the detector with the x-rays on and no inspection object
in the beam.
Application
A computer program used for a particular job, such as word processing or database management. Sometimes called
application program.
Application Icon
Application Window
The window containing the work area and menu bar for an application. The name of the application appears at the top
of this window. An application window may contain multiple document windows (forms).
Arrow Keys
Located on keyboard, these keys are used to move cursor or objects around the screen. They are also known as
direction keys.
Beam
Bit
A bit is a single unit of binary information. In a computer, a series of bits represents integers. The number of bits used
limits the resolution and range of integers that can be represented. For example, the 14-bit numbers used in the DXR
System detector supply 16,384 levels of digitization.
Browse
To look through files and directories. Some dialog boxes have Browse buttons, which open another dialog box that lists
files and directories so that you can easily select the file you want.
Calibrate
A function that increases accuracy by determining the deviation from an assigned standard to ascertain the proper
correction factors.
Calibration Procedure
The process of characterizing the response of each element of the detector, and then storing the results for later use in
producing calibrated radiographic images.
Check Box
Small box next to an option within a dialog box that can be turned on and off. An “X” appears in the box when it is
selected. (see Microsoft Windows User’s Guide)
Clicking
Selecting an item by placing the pointer on it then pressing the mouse button.
Command
A word or phase, usually found in a menu, that you choose in order to carry out an action. You choose a command from
a menu, or type a command at the MS-DOS prompt. You can also type a command in the Run dialog box in File
Manager or Program Manager.
Command Button
A button within a dialog box that performs the task labeled on it. Pressing a command button having an ellipsis (…)
after its label causes another dialog box to appear. (see Microsoft Windows User’s Guide)
Configure
Confirmation Message
A message box usually appearing after performing a specific task or operation. You may be asked to confirm or cancel
the task or operation requested. (see Microsoft Windows User’s Guide)
Copy
To put a copy of a selected text or item onto the Clipboard so that you can transfer it to another location. You can also
copy an entire file from one location to another by using File Manager.
Counts
Counts are the units of the pixel values for digital numbers that represent x-ray intensity measurements from the digital
detector. For the 14-bit DXR System, the possible counts range from 0 – 16,383.
Cursor
Movable on screen reference point (usually represented by an arrow) used to determine insertion point or to select a
check box or command button. Controlled by mouse, TAB key, or arrow keys. Also see horizontal-line cursor and
vertical-line cursor.
DFN Card
The detector-framing node (DFN) is a PCI fiber-optic interface card in the detector controller. The DFN supplies the
communication of commands to the x-ray detector controller board and receives radiographic image data from the
x-ray detector. The DFN makes an interface between the x-ray detector and the detector controller.
Dark Image
The dark image is the result when the DXR System reads the detector with no x-rays on.
Data Acquisition
Data acquisition is the process the DXR System uses to supply inspection imagery.
Database
Data File
Desktop
The screen background for Windows on which windows, icons, and dialog boxes appear.
Detector (X-ray)
The device that measures the intensity of an incident x-ray beam, outputting a measurement at each active element.
Device Driver
A software program that enables a computer to communicate with peripheral devices such as hard disk drives and
CD-ROM drives. Each kind of device requires a different driver. Device driver programs are stored on a computer’s
hard disk and are loaded into memory at boot time.
Dialog Box
A box which temporarily appears and requires selection of an option before carrying out a command. (see Microsoft
Windows User’s Guide)
Digital Filter
A software component used for attenuating unwanted frequencies in digital signals, while passing frequencies of
interest.
The process of using an x-ray detector with digital output and displaying output levels as shades of gray in an image to
produce digital radiographs, which can be displayed, stored, printed, or electronically transmitted.
Direction Keys
Disk
A medium for storing information. Information stored on a disk remains there even when you turn your computer off,
unlike information stored in memory (RAM). A floppy disk can be inserted and removed from a floppy disk drive,
whereas a hard disk is permanently mounted inside its drive.
Document
Whatever you create with an application, including information you type, edit, view, or save. A document may be a
business report, a spreadsheet, a picture, or a letter, for example, and is stored as a file on a disk.
Double-click
To rapidly press and release a mouse button twice without moving the mouse. Double-clicking carries out an action,
such as starting an application.
Drag
The action of moving an object across the desktop and is accomplished by pressing and holding down the mouse button
on a selected item and moving the mouse in a desired direction. The object will move with the mouse cursor.
Enclosure
The x-ray proof container that keeps the x-rays in a safe area.
File
A collection of information that has been given a name and stored on a disk. This information can be a document or an
application.
Filter
A component used for attenuating unwanted frequencies while passing frequencies of interest. See digital filter.
Frame
The frame is the image that is the result of a single read operation of a digital x-ray detector.
Ghosting
Under certain conditions, such as after a prolonged high-intensity x-ray exposure without movement of the part, a
transient artifact or remnant from prior exposure frames can show in the image.
GUI
Gray Scale
The human eye can typically discern a maximum of 256 shades of gray (8 bits). A gray scale look-up table defines
which values in the 14-bit data range are mapped into each of the displayable grays.
Highlighted
The change in color of a box or text when selected indicating that it will be acted upon.
Icon
Inactive Window
An open window not currently selected. Indicated by light gray title. (see Microsoft Windows User’s Guide)
Keywords
Level
The level is the center of the gray scale map. The level is typically selected to make visible a range of counts that the
user is interested in viewing on a monitor. In many regards, it is equivalent to setting the brightness of the display for
the region of interest. The operator usually selects the level at the same time as a window adjustment.
List Box
A box within an application form (window) or dialog box that lists available choices such as file names or devices. A
scroll allows additional items to be viewed if size of box is limited. (see Microsoft Windows User’s Guide)
A device for storing large amounts of data that are likely to be collected in the field.
Maximize Button
Command button located at far right of title containing a square with bold top bar. Used to enlarge the window to its
maximum size on the screen. (see Microsoft Windows User’s Guide)
Menu
A list of available commands in an application window which appear in the menu near the top of the window. Menus
are opened by selecting the menu name. (see Microsoft Windows User’s Guide)
Menu Bar
The horizontal area under the title containing the names of the application’s menus. (see Microsoft Windows User’s
Guide)
Minimize Button
Command button located at far right of title containing a solid bar at bottom. Used to reduce a window to an icon. (see
Microsoft Windows User’s Guide)
Modem
A communications device that enables a computer to transmit information over a telephone line.
Open
To display the contents of a file in a window or to enlarge an icon to a window. (see Microsoft Windows User’s Guide)
Option Button
A small, round button that appears in a dialog box. Within a group of related option buttons, you can select only one.
(see Microsoft Windows User’s Guide)
PMT
Pixel Map
An image used to portray the measured detector response for each element of a detector. The system uses the maps to
supply calibrated radiographs.
Pixel Values
Pixel values are the result of the measurement of x-ray intensity for each detector pixel. The DXR System gives pixel
values that vary from 0 –16,383 counts.
Point
Method of selecting an item on the screen by placing the pointer on it or a term used to reference a single pixel of an
image.
Pointer
An arrow-shaped cursor displayed on the screen corresponding to the movement of a mouse. Used to select items on
which it rests by pressing button on pointing device.
Pop-up Window
A small screen, known as a window, that appear to “pop-up” when its menu heading is selected.
Power Supply
The power supply supplies and controls the electric power to the electronics of the detector.
Pull-down Menu
A sub-menu that is released from the one above it in the menu hierarchy. It appears to be “pulled down.”
Radiation field
After a period of time during which x-ray energy is accumulated in the detector, the system must measure the
accumulated energy to supply an image. To read the detector means to start the measurement process and capture the
results of the measurements.
Recursive Averaging
Recursive averaging is available only in Real Time mode. Recursive averaging is a mathematical operation that
calculates a weighted-sum of new images with older images to supply improved image quality. The DXR- 250RT
system can do a recursive averaging on images in real-time mode. Older images have less of an effect on the result than
newer images. The operator can select the amount of the weight variable in the calculation.
Reduce
To minimize a window to an icon at the bottom of the desktop by using the Minimize button or the Minimize
command. A minimized application continues running, and you can select the icon to make it the active application.
(see Microsoft Windows User’s Guide)
Restore Button
The small button containing a square in front of a square at the right of the title. The Restore button appears only after
you have enlarged a window to its maximum size. Clicking the Restore button returns the window to its previous size.
(see Microsoft Windows User’s Guide)
Scaling
Determining the correct numbers for the horizontal and vertical axis on plots.
Scroll (Verb)
To move through text or graphics (up, down, left, or right) in order to see parts of a file or list that cannot fit on the
screen. (see Microsoft Windows User’s Guide)
Scroll Arrow
An arrow on either end of a scroll that you use to scroll through the contents of the window or list box. (see Microsoft
Windows User’s Guide)
Scroll Bar
A bar that appears at the bottom and/or right edge of a window whose contents are not entirely visible. Each scroll bar
contains a scroll box and two scroll arrows. (see Microsoft Windows User’s Guide)
Scroll Box
In a scroll, the small box that shows the position of information currently in the window or list box relative to the
contents of the entire window. (see Microsoft Windows User’s Guide)
SCSI
Small Computer Systems Interface. A standard PC bus interface, pioneered by Adaptec, that defines standard physical
and electrical connections for devices. SCSI provides a standard interface that enables many different kinds of devices,
such as disk drives, magneto optical disks, CD-ROM drives, and tape drives to interface with the host computer.
Select
Shield (X-ray)
The x-ray shield is additional material put over the x-ray tube output port, during the warmup procedure, to protect the
detector from excessive radiation.
Shortcut Key
A key or key combination that you press to carry out a command or action. If a command has a shortcut key, the key
combination is listed to the right of the command name on the menu.
Spot Size
The spot size is the size of the spot that the electron beam makes as it impacts the tungsten target in an x-ray tube. Some
x-ray tubes have adjustable spot sizes.
An inspection technique contains all of the parameters that can be specified to acquire a set of inspection images.
Depending upon which components are being controlled by the system, the parameters can include detector settings,
manipulator settings, x-ray settings, display settings and review settings. Other portions of the technique set the mode
(static or real-time), specify how the image corrections are to be done, and the name under which images will be stored.
In a real-time acquisition, the parameters setting up the interactive controls are also specified.
Temperature Controller
The device used to regulate the temperature of the detector, thus ensuring consistent performance. The temperature
controller is an electric, solid state, recirculating-fluid bath.
Text Box
In a dialog box, a box in which you type information needed to carry out a command. The text box may be blank or
may contain text when the dialog box opens. (see Microsoft Windows User’s Guide)
Title Bar
The horizontal bar (at the top of a window) that contains the title of the window or dialog box. (see Microsoft Windows
User’s Guide)
Tube (X-ray)
The x-ray tube (or source) supplies the x-ray radiation and sends it towards the inspection object.
Validation Procedure
Validation is the procedure that measures the performance of the system. The operator uses a known phantom object to
do a validation. The validation lets the operator assess and monitor the system performance over time. An analysis of
acquired images is done to produce image quality metrics including electronic noise, uniformity, brightness, noise
power spectrum, spatial modulation transfer function (MTF), contrast, dynamic range linearity and a measure of
detector quantum efficiency (DQE).
Viewing Parameters
The detector measures the amount of x-ray energy at each active element. These measured values are mapped onto a
range of gray intensities to form an image. The range of measured x-ray values is usually much larger than the number
of grays that can be distinguished by the human eye. Thus, only a portion of possible measurement values is displayed.
Image viewing parameters define the contrast and brightness. They are specified as a window and a level of the image
pixel values.
Window
The window is range of the gray scale map. The window is typically selected to make visible a range of counts that the
user is interested in viewing on a monitor. In many regards, it is equivalent to setting the contrast of the display. The
adjustment is usually combined with a level adjustment.
Zoom
To enlarge or reduce a section of a screen display, thereby enabling the user to see a small portion of the trace in detail.
A Counts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Acquisition Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147 CR 100 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Active . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147 CR 100 Scanner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Add New Component CR Tower
in Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Destination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Add New Technique . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 CR Tower Digitizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
AE Title and Port CR50P
in Destinations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Advanced Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Air Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147 Calibration File Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147 Gain Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Application Icon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147 Resolution Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Application Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147 Scan Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Arrow Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147 CR50P Scanner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
ASTM Analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Calibrating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
ASTM Map Inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
ASTM Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 CRxFlex Scanner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Auto Delete, Enabling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 General Usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Auto Send, Enabling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 Scan Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Cursor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
B Custom Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Beam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Bit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147 D
Browse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 Dark Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Data Acquisition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
C Data Directories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Calibrate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 Data File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Calibration File for CR 100 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Calibration Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 Date-Time Stamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Cassette Data, Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 Delete Component
Cassette Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 in Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Check Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 Delete Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Clone Component Delete Technique . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
in Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Density Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Clone Technique . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Destinations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 Detector (X-ray) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Command Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 Device Driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Component Headers, Updating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 DFN Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Component Information Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
in Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Digital Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Computed Radiography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Digital Radiography (DR) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Configure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 Digitizer
Confirmation Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 FS50 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Copy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 Direction Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
E K
Edit Component Keywords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
in Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
L
Edit Technique . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Enable Auto Delete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
List Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Enable Auto Send . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Local Studies View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Enclosure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Logging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Exposure Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Logging on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
F Low Disk Space Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
M
Filter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Main Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Finite Averaging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Manual Deletion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
FS50 Mass Storage Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Maximize Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
FS50 Film Digitizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Menu Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Minimize Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
G Mobile ID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Gain Select for CR 100 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Modem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Ghosting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
O
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Gray Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151 Open. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
GUI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151 Option Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
H P
Highlighted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151 Pipe Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Pipe Data Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
I Pixel Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Icon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151 Pixel Pitch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
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