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Carestream RVG Baseline Image Quality

Michael Satterfield
Updated

Applies to: RVG 5100, RVG 5200, RVG 6100, and RVG 6200 model sensors.

It is highly recommended to utilize an Image Enhancement in Apteryx for Carestream sensors rather than use Post Capture Filters at all.

For Carestream sensors specifically, Post Capture Filters are not able to provide the same level of quality achievable by an Apteryx Enhancement, and further quality issues can occur if one practice uses Post Capture Filters and another uses Apteryx Enhancements. This applies heavily to DSOs and other organizations with multiple locations that use RVG sensors.

Additionally, if a client using Post Capture Filters in XVCapture moves to Apteryx Online Capture in the future, those Post Capture Filters will not carry over, causing an Apteryx Enhancement to have to be created for them anyways.

Due to the above, the use of Apteryx Enhancements combined with location-level filtering is our recommended method of correcting image quality for these devices.

Setup

Verify Post Capture Filters in XVCapture are set to default

The Post Capture Filters MUST be set to default in XVCapture in order for the Apteryx Enhancement to work correctly.

  • Per capture station, navigate to Advanced User Tools > Preferences > Imaging Extensions > drop down “Digital X-ray Image Capture” > Kodak Universal Digital X-ray

  • Select Modify Post Capture Filters

  • Select Filter Options > Reset to Defaults

  • Click OK all the way back to XVCapture’s home screen

Creating the Apteryx Enhancement

  • First, have the client take a new image on someone now that PCFs are set to default, then view the image in Apteryx. An image taken with Post-Capture Filters set to default will be needed. Previous images potentially taken with customized Post-Capture filters should not be used to create the Apteryx Enhancement.

    • Select the Info button from the right-hand toolbar and take note of the Device Model field. This will be used when creating the enhancement

  • Select Enhance Series > Custom > Create Enhancement

    • Specify a Name for your Enhancement

    • Set the Manufacturer & Model drop-down to match what was specified in the Device Model field when reviewing the images Info tab

    • Set Modality to IO

    • Set Effects to IOFilter2

  • Set the IOFilter2’s Applied Effects to the following:

    2801d81d-6985-427e-89ec-ad1120d9af12.png

  • Repeat this process for each model of sensor at the practice. (EX. If the practice has an RVG 5100 and an RVG 6200, you need to make two identical enhancements, each with their respective Device Model specified in the Manufacturer & Model drop-down.

Sometimes, you may create a filter as specified above, yet the filter fails to apply to the specified model of sensor, or certain images taken with that model of sensor. If this occurs, there are likely multiple of that Model of sensor selectable in the Manufacturer & Model drop-down and a duplicate filter will need to be made for each one.

For example, if “RVG 6200” is listed three times in the Manufacturer & Model drop-down, create three of the same filter, and in each one select each separate instance of “RVG 6200.”

This happens because Carestream with different devices and versions of their drivers are reporting different Manufacturer names on the left, while keeping the same Model name/number on the right.

image-20251002-204705.png

Reviewing Quality

After the above has been done, have the client take images on someone then view the new images in Apteryx. Images taken with the Post-Capture Filters set to default will be needed in order to review the quality shown when the Apteryx Enhancement is applied. Previous images potentially taken with Post-Capture filters should not be used to review quality.

  • If adjustments to the quality need to be made:

    • If needing to make adjustments to the brightness and/or contrast of the images, raise or lower PreGamma and/or PostGamma in increments of 0.1. Higher values = a brighter image, lower values = a darker image.

    • If needing to increase or decrease amount of sharpening, raise or lower Factor in increments of 5. Higher value = more sharpening and more graininess, lower value = less sharpening and less graininess.

The client will also need to be aware of the following:

  • Filters will only apply in Apteryx - the images will continue to look bright and illegible in XVCapture, which is expected as the filter only exists in Apteryx.

  • Images taken previously with custom Post-Capture Filters enabled will look over-processed with the Apteryx Enhancement turned on - when reviewing previous images that were taken with Post-Capture Filters in use, instruct the client to toggle the filter off as needed.

  • It is not possible to mirror the image quality seen in Carestream Imaging - Carestream Imaging is built around their sensors, and filters the images in a completely different way.

Enabling “Always Show Enhanced Images” on the location level instead of site-wide

Once the Enhancements have been created and the image quality verified by the client, you’ll need to enable “Always Show Enhanced Images” for the location using RVG sensors:

  • Set the Location drop-down to the correct location in Apteryx

  • Ensure “Always Show Enhanced Images” is off in the Site Settings

  • Navigate to Location Settings (click username > settings > location settings) and set “Always Show Enhanced Images” to on. Save your changes and refresh Apteryx

  • Denticon customers only: Enter the OID in the PMSID field for the corresponding location in Apteryx. This will force Apteryx to launch within Denticon to open their location, ensuring enhancements will turn on appropriately for them.

Capture Stations do not need to be assigned to a location for this to work.

This will allow the enhancement you’ve created to apply automatically at the location specified in the Location drop-down, while preventing the enhancement from applying at other locations.

NOTE: The user will need to be sure to have the Location drop-down set correctly in Apteryx moving forward in order for their filters to automatically apply.

Other methods and combinations of location level filtering can be achieved as well. A full breakdown of location-level image quality settings can be found here, if needed: Location-Specific Apteryx Image Quality Settings - PlanetDDS - Internal Knowledge Base - Confluence

Common Issues

After enabling “Always Show Enhanced Images” on the location, other Apteryx filters are applying instead of the filters you created, or other filters are applying to images taken with other devices

  • If this occurs, delete all of the “preferred” enhancements (Gamma Reduction, High Sharpen, Reduce Grain). If there is an “Apteryx IO Filter” as well, this may need deleted, the modality changed, or the Manufacturer & Model drop-down changed if it is used for another device.

Using RVG sensors as TWAIN

When using the RVG sensor as a TWAIN, the customer can use CS’s CS Adapt library. Here is a quick 1-minute video going over this. https://share.birdie.so/o/xR6yIpE0K

Adapt-OptimizedContrastEndo is typically what most customers will determine as favorable but, they can choose the filter that best suits their needs!

NOTE: You must be using 4.6.9 or newer for these filters to be available. If on Windows 10, install 4.6.9. If on Windows 11, install 4.6.21.4 or newer. And, remember, choose TWAIN when installing to ensure the Twain Configuration settings are available to adjust CS Adapt filters