DR and Imaging - Suni Integration
- Dylan Nigh
MacPractice and Suni Medical Imaging Inc. have collaborated to deliver the MacSensor™ solution. This is composed of the integrated SuniRay sensor and MacPractice software with the Digital Radiography ability. This document will demonstrate the installation and use of the Suni device with MacPractice.
Visit Suni's FAQ section by going to http://suni.com/support/faq.aspx.
Suni Driver Installation
NOTE:Â DO NOTÂ plug in the Suni Sensor until the Suni Drivers have been installed.
To install the Suni drivers, download the drivers and double click the installation box. Follow the installation prompts as instructed.
Click Continue on the Suni Installation welcome window.
Read the installation information and click Continue to proceed.
Select the destination for the Suni Driver. If multiple hard drives are used, select the primary hard drive. Click Continue.
Next, the installation prompt confirms that the Suni Driver is to be installed. Change the location of the Suni Driver or click Install.
The resulting confirmation box asks for a User Name and Password. Enter the administrator User Name and Password for the computer and click OK.
The installation process will begin. Do Not Force Quit this process. Allow the installation to complete.
Once the drivers are installed, the installer will prompt for a system restart. Close any other programs and click the Restart button to continue.
Once the computer has restarted, connect the Suni Sensors to the computer with the USB connection.
Suni Configuration with MacPractice
After restarting the computer and connecting the Suni Sensor through the USB connection, configure MacPractice to use the Suni Sensors. Suni Integration is a purchased ability that will need to be enabled through the MacPractice Accounting Department.
First, confirm that the MacPractice software license is registered with Suni Integration. Access Preferences and select Abilities from the sidebar. If the Suni Integration item is not present, click the Fetch License button and log out and back in to MacPractice. Please contact MacPractice Accounting Department to confirm the ability has been enabled if the Suni Integration item is still not listed.
Select the Digital Radiography panel from the Preferences sidebar. Within the Device tab, select the Suni Device from the Device menu.
When the Suni Device is selected, the default settings for Sensitivity, Threshold, and Integration are enabled. Confirm that Use Image Correction is enabled. While the calibration sliders can be adjusted, the settings are generally optimal for the Suni device. Please see Calibrating the Suni Device prior to making any changes.
The Current Suni Driver Version and Minimum Recommended Version are displayed in the bottom right of the Device tab. If the two versions are different, the Current Suni drivers installed on your system will need to updated to the Minimum Recommended Version drivers in order for the device to work properly with MacPractice.
The Use Auto Filters preference is automatically checked to obtain the best possible results from the Suni device. To turn this setting off requires the intervention from MacPractice Support.
Please see the Digital Radiography Preferences section for information on any of the other general preferences available.
Calibrating the Suni Device
Generally, the default calibration Preferences set in the Device tab of the Digital Radiography panel should be used for optimal image quality. However, the Sensitivity, Threshold, and Integration can be adjusted as the device to further calibrate the device.
If a change in settings is desired to further calibrate the device, these settings should be adjusted incrementally; interpolating between the default and changed results until the desired effect is produced. For example, if a change in Integration is desired, it should be adjusted by increments of 50 where a setting of 450-500 is often the maximum. The default values will generally offer the best results and all calibration should be performed incrementally, using small changes. If the desired effects become too prominent, it may be necessary to click the Reset Defaults button and begin the recalibration process again.
Select the Device tab within the Digital Radiography panel in Preferences. Confirm that Use Image Correction is enabled for the best results. The Sensitivity, Threshold, and Integration can each be adjusted through the individual sliders:
Sensitivity affects how much exposure is necessary for image capture. The Sensitivity should only be adjusted if images import too frequently or not at all. The default value is 7x.
Threshold is used to prevent noise interference while the Suni device is in X-Ray detection mode. The lower the threshold value, the better the X-Ray usage. However, lower threshold values also create less immunity to noise interference. If the threshold is set too low, it is more prone to cause a self-trigger phenomena where the Suni sensor self-triggers image capture. If a self-trigger is experienced, increase the threshold value incrementally until no self-trigger is observed. The default threshold setting is 160.
Integration time is designed to accommodate X-Ray exposure and prevent moving an image in the device while the X-Ray is still activated. The range of integration time is from 200 ms to 1000ms, where the default setting is 300 ms. If more than 300 ms exposure time for an X-Ray image is needed, increase the integration time incrementally. If a blurry image is experienced while using a pulsed (AC-head) X-ray source, the integration time should be adjusted incrementally until a more optimal level of image blur is achieved. Generally, the default integration time value of 300 ms should be used.
Using Suni with MacPractice
Using the Suni Sensor with MacPractice will closely follow the CAPTURE workflow:
Create a Patient Visit.
Add Visit Details.
Position the sensor.
Take the images.
Use any post-processing tools; such as the Options Menu or Filter Settings.
Review the Layout.
Export, Print, or View in full-screen.
The integrated device will offer the additional usability of the interface Capture button. To begin Taking the images, click the Capture button. The device will display as "Ready". Using the X-ray device, take the image and it will appear in the Layout within the first block position or within the selected block. Each subsequent image will appear in the next position on the Layout or within the selected position. When finished, click the Stop Capture button to reset the device back to "Waiting" status.
Suni Layouts, Presets, and Auto Filters
When using the Suni device, automatic adjustments that have been specialized for the device are applied within the available layouts. Within the Shared Layouts node of the Digital Radiography ability, download the Suni specific Layouts. Once downloaded, the Layout templates will be added to the Layouts node and include presets designed to work specifically with the Suni device.
