Q: What versions of InSpace have been released to date?

A: The first version of InSpace was released in 2003. Since then, a new version of InSpace has been released about once per year. InSpace version names are created using the year that their customer release is anticipated, and a letter; if more than one version is brought out in a year the first will be "A", then "B", etc. The most recent version is thus 2007A. Older versions include 2006B, 2006A, 2005A, 2004A, and (using an older version naming system), VB10B and VB10A.

In addition to the "classic" InSpace on syngo, InSpace has been adapted to a client/server architecture, to allow you to use it from any modern Windows machine across a network to a server. This product is called "InSpace 4D for syngo Webspace". It is available now (first quarter of 2007). Click here for more information.

Q: How do I determine what version of InSpace I am currently using?

A: Start InSpace and select the "About..." menu item from the InSpace menu. A dialog will appear. Look for "InSpace Version:"; this will list the software version along with a date, which is the build date for the version you're using.

Q: What are the differences between InSpace versions?

A: Click this link for a description of the main differences.

Q: How do I obtain an updated version of InSpace for my system?

A: Contact your Siemens service representative to arrange for an upgrade of your system. Upgrades to InSpace usually involve upgrading the entire system, not just InSpace.

Q: Is there a way to use the VOI punching tool to punch only a selected part of a volume, not all the way through?

A: Yes, you can restrict the effect a punch by using clip planes. To do this, turn on and position as many clip planes as you like, to hide all the parts of the volume which you do not want to punch. Then draw your ROI. Before punching, select the "Clip ROI" checkbox on the VOI Punching dialog box. When you punch, only the parts of the volume which you can currently see will be punched; the parts of the volume which are clipped will not be punched.

Q: What options are there to use the full 12 bits of dynamic range stored with most medical imaging volumes?

A: If you have the optional VolumePro card, then you are probably already using all 12 bits. Otherwise, volumes will be loaded only using 8 bits of resolution.

To check this, examine the "extra" information shown in the bottom left of each view. (If there is no text in the bottom left, turn on extra information by selecting the "Extra Info" item on the "Show" menu.) The last line of extra info always shows the size and bit-depth of the volume as it was in the patient database. In addition, if the volume you are looking at has been resized in any way (either by upsampling or downsampling in any dimension including bit depth), the extra info will include a line starting with "LD" followed by the size in voxels of the loaded data.

If you're using a VolumePro card but not loading at 12 bits, you can configure InSpace to use 12 bits. (12 bit loading is now used by default, but it was not in some earlier versions of InSpace.) To do this, select the "Settings..." menu item from the InSpace menu. On the window that appears, select the "Volume Size" tab. Check the "Load 12 bits" check box.

Q: Is there a way to produce super quality MPR views?

A: The upper right most button on the InSpace window is the toggle between "high" and "normal" quality. Generally, selecting "high" quality will result in slightly slower performance, but better images. When displaying MPR slices, performance is usually not an issue, so you can select the "high" quality mode without penalty and gain some MPR quality. Just make sure you switch out of "high" quality if you notice your 3D view performance dropping.

Q: Is there a way to customize the view layout and other settings that InSpace uses initially when a case is loaded? For instance, can I make InSpace always use the MPR mode initially?

A: Yes. Just run the startup wizard (in the InSpace menu). The startup wizard allows you to set your initial view layout, viewing direction, projection method, and a few other generally-useful settings.

Q: I want InSpace to automatically apply different classications for different types of studies. Can I do that?

A: Yes. InSpace has the ability to link presets to series descriptions, so that when you load a volume with a particular series description, a particular preset will be automatically applied upon loading. This feature can be very useful if your institution enters standardized names in the series description when the data is acquired.

To create a series-linked preset, first the preset must exist in your preset area. You can use any of the factory presets, or you can create a new one the normal way. (Load any volume; change InSpace to have the appropriate parameters for the preset; select the "Save Modality Preset" menu item from the InSpace menu, name the preset, and "Save".)

Now, load any volume with the chosen series description. Select "Apply Modality Preset", and click the preset to select it. Now select the menu item "Link Current" from the "Linking" menu on the dialog. An information window will pop up to let you know the link was created. You can test that it worked by closing the volume and loading it again; your new preset should be applied automatically.

Q: I want a faster InSpace! Is there any way I can get it on faster hardware?

A: Maybe. If your computer does not have a VolumePro accelerator card, then you should try to get one with it. This can speed up InSpace quite a lot, especially on large volumes.

Q: How do I determine if I have a VolumePro accelerator card, and how do I know if it is actually being used?

A: To determine if you've got a VolPro, call up the About dialog. Among other information about the hardware and drivers, if you have a VolPro you should see a line like this: "1 VolumePro board(s) present and enabled".

To determine if InSpace is currently using the VolumePro to accelerate rendering, just examine your clip plane card. When VolPro rendering is on, you'll see controls for four clip planes. If six clip planes are available, you're not using VolPro.

If you have a VolumePro, InSpace will use it by default. However it is possible to turn off the use of VolumePro. If so, you can turn it back on by selecting InSpace/Settings, then click on the Quality tab. Click the "Use VolumePro" check box, and restart InSpace.

Q: I noticed that I can save a bookmark by right-clicking on the LoadBookmark button. What buttons in InSpace have a "right click" behavior?

A: Here is a list of the right button behavior that is available:

Q:I created a digital movie, but I can't open it on my Macintosh. What codec should I use?

A: When you save a movie, a window with the title "Video Compression" will appear. There is a drop-down list with the title "Compressor". Choose the compression format labeled "Cinepac Codec by Radius". This format should work on most Macintosh computers