Software

The Scanning Mode allows initializing the scanner, provides access to specimen chamber for object installation or replacement, activates / deactivates X-ray source, adjusts (manually or automatically) source parameters and energy filtering, collects image from X-ray detector, performs all image corrections including active artifact elimination, saves/loads single image or sequence of images during object rotation for following tomographical reconstruction, adjusts object position and image magnification, shows visual image of the object inside specimen chamber using internal color optical camera, performs all calibration procedures and sets / applies system settings. It can store full set of system settings as a user configuration to restore system set-up for specific study on request. An operator can measure object dimensions and show intensity profiles on the screen by simple mouse clicks.

The Reconstruction Mode allows converting set of two-dimensional images of the object acquired during scanning to a stack of virtual slices through the object to reveal its internal microstructure non-destructively. It works with intensive multithreading using all available cores of computer processors. An operator can reconstruct any single, multiple or all virtual cross sections through the object. A gray-scale window for all resulting cross section can be selected manually or automatically. The software can perform automatic misalignment correction, apply smoothing to reduce noise on reconstructed slices, add “beam hardening correction” to compensate impact of different absorption for different X-ray energies in polychromatic primary beam, apply ring artifact correction, implement reconstruction with selected slice rotation angle and reconstruct objects larger than field of view.

The Visualization Mode can work in two possible approaches: visualization of two-dimensional images or volume rendering for realistic displaying of full three-dimensional structure. Two-dimensional visualization can display reconstructed results as a slice-by-slice movie or as three orthogonal slices through the objects crossed at any point or reconstructed volume. An operator can select any position of cross point and adjust grayscale levels of displayed absorption range. In volume rendering mode, one can see full reconstructed object as a realistic three-dimensional image with possibility to zoom in and out, rotate, make virtual cut, manipulate clipping cube and object volume separately or together, select color and transparency curves, add illumination with controllable direction and color, adjust viewing angle, etc. Integrated “movie creator” allows creating movies with flights around or inside the object by simple selection of several key frames with following automatic interpolation of flying trajectory and all color / transparency / light properties for all intermediate frames.