  NRecon version history 
Update guidelines:  
   Before updating your NRecon/NReconServer, please backup your current version 
(NRecon.exe, NRecon.hlp, NReconServer.exe)!  
   Updating is done by simply copying the new files (the *.exe and *.hlp files) to their 
corresponding directory. 
   For the distributed/cluster version, you do need to do it for all PC's and for both NRecon 
and NReconServer.  
 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Update history: 

--Version, 1.7.4.6 (Release), Oct 12, 2018

   NRecon only.   It works with any NReconServer/GPUReconserver starting from 1.7.4.0.  The 
latest server release is 1.7.4.2. 

   ***Added or modified functionalities 
         1. The keyboard shortcuts for preview/start-reconstruction/... are now also available via menu 
Actions->Start preview/reconstruction/...  

   ***Bug fix  
         1. Reconstruction slice range defined in a rcp file was not taken into account. 
         2. The extended alignment (invoked with certain datasets, or in engineering mode): accepting
 the transformation would fail (do nothing) in case of oversize scans. 

--Version, 1.7.4.5 (Release),  Sep 21, 2018

   NRecon only. 

***Added or modified functionalities 
         1. The layout of "Preferences"window is modified.  Added option for oversize scan:  possible 
to reconstruct using user-defined options here without popping up window to confirm/modify the option again.   
         2.  Layout for browsing for a folder is modified. 
         3.  A hidden function to record reconstruction progress in a log file: if it is defined in teh registry 
(NRecon-> Preference->Status Log File-> full-path-of-the-log file), and if this file exists. 
         4.  Option to specify output folder, if started by an external program 
         5.  X/Y alignment with a reference scan:  if certain TIFF tags are available in the original data, the 
advanced alignment function will be activated automatically. 
         6.  Advanced alignment with a reference scan revised:  explicit options are given to enable/disable a 
certain operation; options are now given with respect to the recon-server in use; defect-pixel-correction is 
added when the transformation has to be applied, in addition to the ring correction. 

 



--Version, 1.7.4.4 (Release),  Aug 1, 2018

***Bug fix  
         1. Oversize reconstruction:  the post-alignment is not correctly treated (use same alignment for 
all is reversed at reconstruction time.  As a result, always the same alignment is used for all parts).  
This bug is introduced in version 1.7.3.0. 



--Version, 1.7.4.2 (Release),  May 28, 2018

Both NRecon and NReconServer/GPUReconServer are modified. 

***Added or modified functionalities 
         1. Spiral reconstruction: now it is implemented for scanning with both CW and CCW rotation.  
         2. DICOM:  option for single DICOM file is added.  Note that if the full volume is larger 2GB, 
multiple DCM files will be used instead (without warning). 
         3. DICOM:  Add entity PatientName. 
         4. Offset scans with a post-scan:  if the required temppartial files are not found, it will not 
be switched to advanced mode. 
         5. NReconUI:  due to possible confusion, under ring correction, the labels "fast ... accurate" 
are removed.  

 

--Version, 1.7.3.2 (Release),  Jan. 25, 2018
Both NRecon and NReconServer/GPUReconServer are modified. 
***Added or modified functionalities 
         1. Adapted for oversize scan with continous rotation ( possible variation of rotation step among 
the sub-scans).  

--Version, 1.7.3.1 (Release),  Jan. 7, 2018
Both NRecon and NReconServer/GPUReconServer are modified. 
***Bug fix  
         1. InstaRecon server could not be used for 1272 scans. This bug was introduced in version 1.7.3.0.  


 
--Version, 1.7.3.0 (Release),  Dec., 2017 

Both NRecon and NReconServer/GPUReconServer are modified. 

***Added or modified functionalities 
         1. Adapted for the new acquisition mode with random movement.  Please see a brief 
description the the HLP file, section  FAQ, Q11: Why would one do a random-movement scan? And how? 
         2. Log file encryption.  If the log file in the input dataset is encrypted, it will be 
decrypted at loading time. After reconstruction, log file will be in the form of both encrypted 
file and normal log file. 

***Bug fix  
         1. Occaionally, the alignment image was not visible after loading. 
         2. Post alignemnt values for oversize scan:  starting from version 1.7.1.6, option "use same 
alignment for all" can be recorded/read-back in log file or rcp file.  However, it was not properly done, 
causing these values to be read back incorrectly in most cases. Revisited. 


--Version, 1.7.1.6 (Release), Oct., 2017 

Minor release.  Both NRecon and NReconServer/GPUReconServer are modified. 

***Added or modified functionalities 
         1. Revisiting parameter sets determination:  which parameters to be recorded in 
protocol/last-used/log file. Introduced new options , e.g., option to disable post-alignment, to 
force using same alignment for all subscans within an oversize scan, etc... 
         2. Advanced option to define parameters for external programs (CTan, DataViewer, CTvox).  

***Bug fix  
         1. GPU spiral reconstruction:  bug fix to reduce alias artefacts.  
         2. The previous version was made incompatible to 1072 data. Recovered. 
         3. NRecon:  during preview/reconstruction, drawing a profile across would cause freezing 
of reconstruction. Drawing function is now disabled during reconstruction.   

 

--Version, 1.7.1.0 (Release), March, 2017 
 
Major release.  Both NRecon and NReconServer/GPUReconServer are modified. 
 
***Added or modified functionalities  
         1. Exact spiral reconstruction backed up with patented algorithm.  This reconstruction is 
now completely ported to GPU, resulting in significant speed increase. In addition, de-
blurring technique is introduced which is crucial for spiral scans with relatively coarse angular 
sampling.    
         2. GPUserver/NReconServer: due to the patented algorithm, a license notice will show 
up at start of the server. This notice will not show up again after you have acknowledged for 
"read and understood".  
         3. Allow for extra long scans (+360deg) with normal circular orbit.    
         4. Preferences: when use "last-used"as the default parameter set, options are given to 
keep/ignore a few parameters (which are ignored by default).  
         5. Internal modification of contrast (color map): no noticable change should be observed 
by users.  
         6. Default factory setting for smoothing: changed from Box(asym) to Gaussian.    
         7. Preview/fine-tuning range for smoothing and ring correction: 0 is included in the 
range.   
         8. Slight change in UI: the ring-correction level is now labeled as "modest ... severe" 
instead of  "fast...accurate".    
         9. Maximum number of CPU threads is increased from 32 to 64: the true maximum 
allowed threads is determined by the number of processors (x2 if hyper-threading is on) on 
the PC.    
         10. Save a series of projection files ( via button on the tool bar which shows the 
projection number):  to avoid confusion,  this is made available only for oversize scans and 
spiral scans (for other scans, one can use other software, e.g., DataViewer). In addition, the 
saved files are only in 8-bit format.   
         11. Variable raing level (advanced option in engineering mode):  it is now taken into 
account when sending to batch; last-used value is recorded in registry; last-used value is 
recorded in reconstruction log file and is loaded back automatically; not included in rec. 
protocol. 
 
***Bug fix   
         1. Bug fixes and completion of the advanced option "extended alignment":   made ready 
for offsized offset scans;  made ready for scans with multiple arc files for ring correction; bug 
fix of the incorrect ring-correction information at the start of saving.  
         2. No image display after reconstruction: this would only occur for PNG format.   
         3. Overwriting of previously reconstructed gates (gated scan):  a bug introduced in the 
latest versions.   
         4. Reconstruction could crash or fail if the number of threads on the PC exceeds the 
maximum number of CPU threads (now increased from 32 to 64). 
  	 5. GPUReconServer (1.7.1.1):  fixed a dead-lock in reconstruction. Under very rare but 
certain conditions (especially very small datasets), the reconstruction would hang for ever, usually 
indicating 99% done. 


 
 
--Version, 1.7.0.4 (Release) , August, 2016 
 
Release for bug fixes.  Both NRecon and NReconServer/GPUReconServer are modified. 
 
***Bug fix   
         1.  Oversize reconstruction failure (complain about "no file found", but the file was 
there): in case of IRserver and output format JPG. The final fix will be in IRserver: the JPG 
file needs a specific tag to be recognized as a normal image file (gray value image instead of 
color/RGB image).  NRecon is now adjusted to cope with this, so reconstruction will succeed, 
but DataViewer/CTan may complain about the reconstructed volume. See tip below on how 
to go around this problem.    
         2. Oversize reconstruction failure (complain about "no file found", and the file was also 
not there): usually would occur for oversize scans with smaller image size.  This bug was 
introduced in 1.7.0.3.  
         3. Resize of oversize scan in batch:  reporting failure after even successful resizing.   
         4. Profile window, X/Y alignment window:  when closing with the "x" button on the top 
right corner, image display is now made consistent.  
       Tip:     To avoid  problems with JPG format generated by  IRserver.  
               - Avoid using JPG format if IRserver (version 2.0.3.5  and below) is used.  PNG can 
be used instead.  Do this not only for oversize scans, but also for single scans.  
               - If you have JPG images reconstructed with IRserver, you may encounter problems 
in DataViewer and CTan.  The problem: certain functions are disabled because the dataset is 
treated as a color RGB image, not as a normal 3D volume.  
                 There are several ways to go around it.  
                  In CTan, in File->Preferences, set the option "RGB to gray" to one of the channels. 
Or you can change this option each time when you  load such a dataset.  
                  In DataViewer, do the same in Options->Preferences at loading, or each time you 
load such a dataset.  
                  You can also use either DataViewer or CTan to save a new dataset, after having 
forced the dataset being treated as gray image, as mentioned above. 
 
 
 
--Version, 1.7.0.3 (Release) , July, 2016 
 
Major release.  Both NRecon and NReconServer/GPUReconServer are modified. 
 
***Added or modified functionalities 
         1. Accurate spiral reconstruction: CPU version and GPU version.  With GPU server, 
only accurate mode is available.  Same as previous versions, spiral reconstruction is not 
available with IRserver.   
         2. Extended alignment with a reference scan. It is extended in two ways. Firstly, it is 
extended in terms of transformation: from shifts only to fully 2D transform (shifts, rotation, 
zooming). Secondly, it is extended for offset scans too. Due to the complexity and the 
relatively narrow application, it is kept as an advanced option. More information in "advanced 
functions" on the FAQ list.  
         3. Automatic start of ref-scan matching function:  this only occur if the dataset is loaded 
for the first time; it uses the original x/y alignment method using shifts only.  
         4. Oversize scan reconstruction: reviewed. It handles better the oversize scans which 
deviate very much from a standard oversize acquisition.   
         5. When drawing a profile on preview image, Update Rot gives now option to do a 
new preview automatically.  
         6. Preferences window is re-organized. New items have been added. 
         7. Oversize scan:  the options for connection/shifts/rotation can be pre-defined in the 
preferences window. Also the ranges for the matching.  
         8. X/Y alignment (or reference-scan method, post-scan method):  which parameters to 
match, and the ranges can be defined in Preferences window.  
         9. Parameter sets in preferences window: def. values, last-used, def. protocols.    
         10. HU calibration: the user interface is modified.  
       
 
***Bug fix   
         1. Short-scan/spiral-scan: the intensity was slightly lower as it should, 
corrected.  Caution: possible influence on quantification analysis.  
         3. HU calibration on 1278: system defined HU calibration (by control software) was not 
red properly.  
         4. Resizing function for oversize scans:  did not work when it is sent to batch manager.  
         5. Checking disk space: reverse order. Now delete to-be-overwritten files first before 
checking for disk availability.   
         6. Remove "Histogram" text in the histogram window: it appeared occasionally when it 
was not meant to appear.    
         7. Elliptical ROI:  this parameter was not recorded in the log file.   
         8. Combination GPU server + Scales + circular/elliptical ROI: the scale info was 
incomplete.   
         9. HU info was neglected in DICOM header.  
         10. When saving screen image while the display is a preview image, png was not 
included  in thelist of file format. 
 
 
--Version, 1.6.10.5 (Release) , October, 2015
 
Bug fixes only. In this version, only NRecon is modified. Both NReconServer and 
GPUReconServer stay as version 1.6.10.4. 
***Bug fix   
         1. Default alignment value: not correctly taken if NRecon if started up with a dataset 
(drag-and-drop; start up from within a control software). This is introduced in one of previous 
releases.  
         2. ROI edit window: wrong if width/height above 999 in case of square/circular ROI.   
         3. DICOM. Tag (0008,0018) : increment per slice.  
         4. When removing existing files, the additional files (f4f, dcm) were not removed. This 
may causing dataset corruptions.  
  
 
--Version, 1.6.10.4 (Release) , August, 2015
***Bug fix   
         1. Scale information incomplete: this would occur if GPUServer is used and 
circular/elliptical ROI is on.  
         2. Manual ROI edit:  equal length was not enforced in case of circular/square ROI.  
         3. The additional DICOM format:  HU slope/interception were neglected.  
         4. Minor modification:  when saving screen image, a meaningful filename is proposed. 
         5. When resetting TS, no progress bar appeared, which may cause some confusion.  
         6. Oversize scan with undersampling option on or with rec. step other than 1:  missing 
slices were occasionally observed.  
         7. Minor modification: 5-th order polynomial BHC. Accurate down to 16 digits after the 
period. 
 
 
--Version, 1.6.10.2 (Release) , April, 2015
***Bug fix   
         1. NRecon in the preferences "data portion for alignment":  it was internally limited to 
10%. Bug was introduced in the last release. Corrected. 
 
 
--Version, 1.6.10.1 (Release) , April, 2015
***Bug fix   
         1. GPUserver: for large volumes when the reconstruction is done in chunks internally, 
small variation of image intensity would occur. This is particularly noticeable for uniform 
samples.  
         2. ROI on NRecon:   an ellipse ROI would be reset to rectangle ROI when it was sent to 
batch process. 
         3. Phase-contrast scanners: wrong convolution filter for differential phase contrast. 
         4. NRecon 64-bit: incorrect path to registry. This may have influence on license 
registration, user preferences, etc.  
         5. Optical scanners (SkyScan 3001):  in the CPU version the reconstruction is wrong 
(except preview). This was introduced in version 1.6.9.7.  
         6. Crash of 64-bit NRecon on some Windows PC's, when menu "Actions" is 
clicked:  happen randomly. 
***Added or modified functionalities 
         1. Command line options: adapted and improved.  More options are provided when 
NRecon is invoked from within a control software.  
         2. NRecon option "X/Y alignment with a reference scan": a button "reset all" is 
provided.  
         3. NRecon preferences: option "Enable post-alignment for in-vivo scanners" is no longer 
checkable. It stays enabled/checked.  
         4. NRecon:  a line is added into the original log file ("TS modified at") if the thermal 
shift has been modified.   
         5. In NRecon, to reduce loading time (speedup work flow): thermal-shift values are 
collected by first loading and are re-used later; pseudo-parallel projections are not created if 
the projection portion is set to 0 in Preferences.   
         6. Phase-contrast imaging, post-alignment value:  if all 3 datasets are available,  the 
default alignment value for absorption is automatically used for differential phase image and 
dark image. Recommendation: for this type of scans, load and reconstruct absorption image 
first.  
         7. Phase-contrast imaging, automatic range for DPC: use the absolute minimum and 
maximum.  
         8. Phase-contrast, dark image: instead of using log, inverse linear is used. This results in 
quite different data range after reconstruction. In evaluation.  
         9. Extra files copied to destination folder:  more precisely, the *photo* files in 1275.  
         10. Air intensity in log file: now available on certain type of scanners.  If found, this 
value is used instead for air intensity if option "Object larger than field of view" is checked.  
         11. NRecon function, menu Actions->Print: disabled. 
 
--Version, 1.6.9.18  (Release) , Nov 6, 2014
***Bug fix   
         1.   Start CTan/CTvox from toolbar: fail to start if reconstructed slices are not yet 
available. 
 ***FYI  
         1.   NReconServer and GPUServer in this release have version number 1.6.9.15. They 
remain unchanged in the latest sub-versions. 
 
--Version, 1.6.9.17  (Release) , Nov 3, 2014
***Bug fix   
         1.   Start DataViewer from toolbar: function is accidently disabled in release 1.6.9.16.   
         2.   Fine-tune post-alignment: viewing of the results may be incorrect (slow or frozen) 
when the step size is smaller than 0.5.  Occurs in 1.6.9.16 only.  
         3.   Log file in reconstructed dataset: it might be hidden under unusual conditions (when 
original log is not available). This is now made visible.  
          
--Version, 1.6.9.16  (Release) , Oct 21, 2014
 ***Added or modified functionalities 
         1. Circular/elliptical ROI. (Applicable with NReconServer/GPUReconServer.)  
         2. Editable ROI: right mouse-click inside the ROI region. Added handle at all sides to 
change ROI, in addition to the corner handles.  
         3. Optional output DICOM: enable and select in Options->Preferences to make this 
option available (appear in output tab). This output is additional to the standard output.  
         4. Option to start a program (DataViewer, CTan, CTvox) after reconstruction 
automatically: Options->Preferences to enable/disable this option.  
         5. Fine-tune post-alignment: minimum step is reduced from 0.5 to 0.1 pixel.  
         6. Zoom with mouse-wheel.  Reduced zooming step.  
         7. Hand-mode enabled.  Automatically invoked by (left-)mouse click and drag, if image 
is scrollable.  
         8. Histogram window (output page after previewing): double-clicking on the vertical 
line resets the range.  
         9. GPUserver: enhanced error record.   
         10. Advanced option:  variable ring correction level;  projection rotation for oversize 
scan.   
         11. Modified command line options and startup parameters when invoked another 
program.  
         12. NRecon is now also available in 64-bit.  Standard included in the release.  
         13. GPUReconServer is now also available in 32-bit.  It is provided by request only 
(info@bruker-microct.com). 
***Cosmetic changes  
         1. About window updated.  
         2. License setup window updated: consistent terms.    
         3. Toolbar: previous/next buttons.  
         4. ROI: line-only instead of being filled with a different color.  
         5. x/y alignment window: consistency between main display and x/y alignment window 
enhanced (the image-pair was not shown at first start-up).  
         6. NReconServer Help button. 
***Bug fix   
         1.   Matching in oversize scan option:  failure if reconstruction step is other than 1.   
         2.   Matching in oversize scan option:  NRecon may occasionally crash or freeze.   With 
fusion option, the HU values might get lost in the slices at connections.  
         3.   PNG format:  when output format is PNG, the pixel size may be wrong by large 
factors (happens randomly, but very occasionally).  This bug was introduced in version 
1.6.9.6 in both NRecon and CPU/GPU server.  
         4.   Post-alignment estimation:  possible wrong pseudo-parallel-projections in case of 
strongly variable x-ray intensity.  
         5.   Start CTan:  if output file has a sequence digit other than 4, this will now be taken 
into account.  This is relevant mainly for the new scanner models (e.g. 1272, 1278).   
         6.   Advanced option:   in the option of modifying convolution filter, the cutoff was not 
correctly applied on the different windows.   
 
--Version, 1.6.9.8  (Release) 
 ***Added or modified functionalities 
         1. X/Y alignment with a reference scan for oversize scans: it was using a wrong 
assumption that reference scans for all sub-scans were using the same rotation step; however, 
this is not the case, as the rotation step of the reference step is chosen independently and 
depends on the duration of the main scan itself. This bug is fixed. 
***Bug fix   
         1.   X/Y alignment with a reference scan:  when the matching method is chosen to be 
one of ( co-variance, least-square, mutual information,  the selection of "starting point of 
search" was ignored. It always started from the current estimation. This is fixed. 
 
 
--Version, 1.6.9.7  (PreRelease) 
***Important notice  
         1. NRecon license (both CPU and GPU license):  the license procedure has been revised. 
For previously installed licenses, it is likely that you will be asked to enter registration again. 
This should only happen once. 
***Bug fix   
         1.  NRecon:  option "use 180+" in the advanced tab, available for 360-deg scans only. 
When the start angle was chosen too close to 180deg, the reconstruction range was not 
adapted properly, resulting in a faint line through the image center in the reconstruction. ( For 
those who uses "engineering mode" for testing, it is now possible to specify starting angle 
beyond 180deg: cyclic usage of the views is then enabled. This is accurate with 
NReconServer. With GPUserver, it is only accurate if the gantry/stage will get to exactly 360 
deg with the given rotation step. This option will not work together with IRserver. )  
         2. GPUserver (multi-GPU): potential failures in a multi-GPU setup. 
***Added or modified functionalities 
         1.  NReconServer (CPU):  the hard limit on maximum number of threads is removed. It 
is recommended to specify it as many as the number of cores on the PC. Evaluation has been 
done up to 16 threads due to hardware availability.  
         2.  GPUReconServer (GPU): the maximum number of GPU's per PC is set to 32. For a 
local version, this number remains at 2.  Evaluation has been done up to 16 GPU's due to 
hardware availability.  
         3.  By fresh installation of NReconServer/GPUReconServer: the number of threads will 
be set automatically to the number of cores.  
         4.  By start of NReconServer/GPUReconServer: it is important to use a 64-bit version 
on a 64-bit PC, to make full usage of memory. A warning will be displayed for 30 seconds, if 
one runs a 32-bit server on a 64-bit PC.  
         6.  Menu item rename in NRecon. Option-->Network configuration is renamed to 
"Reconstruction server configuration". The function itself remains the same.  
         7.  Oversize options (NRecon), slightly modified in the way which set of parameters are 
used at the beginning of a match operation. The last-used values were used in previous 
versions; from this version on, for the parameters one wishes to find (z shift, x/y shift, or 
rotation),  it is always the default values which are used when reconstructing for matching. 
This avoids possible error if previous values were (too) wrong. Various error-prone points 
have been secured in the procedure. Slightly more information is given in the progress 
window to indicate at which stage the reconstruction is: the partial reconstruction for 
matching, the final reconstruction or the reconstruction for fusion.  
         8. NRecon: the appearance of the user interface is somewhat different than before.  
        
 
--Version, 1.6.9.6  (PreRelease) 
    ***Bug fix   
         1.  Alignment with reference scans, only for oversize scans with 8-digit sequence 
numbers: the thermal shifts could not be saved (button "accept").  
         2.  Number of digits in file sequence: to make the automatic determination of the 
number of digits more robust, from this version on, only 4-digits and 8-digits are sought for. 
The automatic determination searches for existing files with possibly 4 or 8 digits, verifies 
with the corresponding log files if found, and also searches for other files such as the *_spr, 
*sp2, *_arc in case of ambiguity. If a dataset is not recognized correctly, please check for files 
with similar prefix in the same folder and if possible remove them to avoid ambiguity.  
         3.  Oversize scans: when option "fusion" is used, the integrity of the full dataset may be 
broken due to the pixel size in the fused images is slightly different. This happens rarely,  for 
JPG, PNG and TIFF format, not for BMP format.  This integrity is checked by CTan only. 
The problem is due to the intrinsic representation of pixel size in different file formats 
(integer/real number conversion). This bug is solved in the following way: an alternative tag 
is now used in JPG/PNG to guarantee identical pixel size (this tag is also read/write now by 
CTan/DataViewer), for TIFF the potential for conversion error is in principle still there but 
the occurrence probability is much smaller.  In addition, from next version on (>1.13.5), CTan 
relaxes the integrity check to allow a very small discrepancy in pixel sizes within one dataset. 
This has no influence in analysis accuracy. The fix for PNG also solves another bug: pixel 
size smaller than 387nm can now be correctly represented. 
 
--Version, 1.6.9.5  (Pre-release) 
    ***Bug fix   
         1.  Datasets with 8-digit sequence numbers: yet one more confusion when multiple 
datasets with similar names reside in the same folder. Resolved by reading the log file itself 
explicitly.  
         2.  NRecon (local version):  when modifying the type of server view menu Options-
>Preferences, it was not correctly recorded.  
         3.  ROI reconstruction: when ROI is not entirely inside the image, the behavior was not 
as expected. Warning is now given if the ROI is not fully inside, or it is automatically shifted 
back into image when no user interference is expected (e.g., in batch).   
         4.  NRecon: extra check has been applied to ensure single-instance.   
         5. Grey level discrepancy for some scans: this bug was introduced in 1.6.9.0 for both 
CPU and GPU servers.  It mainly affects the 180-deg scans on 1173 with extended acquisition 
angular range. 
--Version, 1.6.9.4,   Release 
    ***Bug fix (introduced in 1.6.9.2, 1.6.9.3) 
         1.   Oversize scan:  NRecon would crash at loading time under certain conditions. 
Especially scans on 1076, when option "Open door after scanning" is chosen. Extra data 
consistency check for oversize scans is added.  
         2.   Oversize scan:  Some of the intermediate sub-folders would be left behind if only 
partial volume is reconstructed.  
         3.   Oversize scan:  When the CS rotation is non-zero while x/y shifts are present, the 
connection would be bad.  
         4.   NReconServer, GPUReconServer: if number of threads exceeded 8, the ring 
correction was not successful. 
    ***Bug fix  
         1.   Start CTvox after reconstruction: the result file was not given correctly if 8-digit 
sequence is used instead of the normal 4-digit. 
    ***Slightly adjusted 
         1.  Post-alignment:  the range of searching is slightly increased. If the boundary is hit, 
the estimated value is set to 0. 
         2.  Image dynamic range for projection images: automatic shrinking if the maximum is 
less than 10% of the total range. This is mainly for the XRF scans.  
         3.  Intermediate files (*_pp1.tif, *_pp2.tif, the preview files) are set to be hidden.  
 
 
--Version, 1.6.9.3,   Release 
    ***Bug fix  
         1.   Oversize scan: when fusion is selected, the pixel size in PNG/JPG output files was 
incorrect, causing the reconstructed volume inconsistent; in TIFF format, the fusion part 
would be missing.  
 
 
--Version, 1.6.9.2,   Release
    ***Added or modified functionalities  
         1.   Oversize scan:  additional matching  parameters (x/y shift, rotation) are 
added.  More details in the online help file (FAQ list, Start page).  
         2.   Server: up to 16 threads.  
         3.   Profile window on the preview image: new button "update rot." allows you to 
modify the CS rotation parameter accordingly.  
         4.   ROI function: reset button.  
         5.   NRecon "Summary" page: added panel showing extra dataset information.  
         6.   On the server: the "initialization" time is reduced by using multi-threading for 
calculating parameters for ring correction.  
         7.   NRecon:  calculation time for pseudo-parallel projections (pp1/pp2 files, used for 
post-alignment estimation) are reduced in 2 ways. First of all, the intermediate pp1/pp2 files 
are no longer removed after each session so that these files can be reused if 
suitable;  secondly, the calculation itself is now multi-threaded.  
         8.  Advanced option "Iterative x/y alignment":   angular undersampling. 
   ***Bug fixes  
         1.   Oversize scan option: a bug related to bedshift for in-vivo scanners; bug in color 
table in BMP and pixel size variation in fusion images.  
         2.   GPUReconServer:  possible wrong slices in output or program crash/hang if the 
reconstruction step is other than 1.     
         3.   Option "x/y alignment with a reference scan": when re-loading after accepting the 
shifts, the pseudo-parallel projections for post-alignment estimation was not redone.  
         4.   Advanced option "Define projection transformation":  the refined parameters were 
not read. This bug was there in 1.6.5.0.  
         5.   Advanced option "Iterative x/y alignment":   wrong image scale if  "scaled pixel 
size" in the log file is effective.  
 
 
--Version, 1.6.8.0,   release
    This version contains modifications in 1.6.7 pre-releases. The major change is the revision 
of oversize scan options. 
***Bug fixes  
         1.  Option "X/Y alignment with a reference scan" in NRecon: due to a bug, no good 
match could be found under certain conditions. Improved.  
         2.  Advanced option "Iterative x/y alignment":  improved stability in case of multiple 
iterations and large (post-)alignment correction.  
         3.  Scans with clock-wise rotation: 180+ scans were not properly weighted. Fixed. 
 
 
--Version, 1.6.7.2,   pre-release
***Bug fixes  
         1.   A bug was introduced in 1.6.7.1, only NRecon is concerned.  Oversize option: the 
"suggested recon range" may be incorrect; the matching function without fusion was not 
optimal, resulting in more artifacts in the junctions.   
 
 
--Version, 1.6.7.1,   pre-release
***Added or modified functionalities  
         1.   Reconstruction of oversize scans are revised. From this version on, it does not 
assume constant shift distances between 2 subscans. This should allow correct reconstruction 
of oversize scans which would have bad connections due to, e.g., touching end switch.  
         2.   Resizing function:  the reference scan (iif, oog files) is also taken into account.  
         3.   XRF scans:  if defect-pixel-mask is not chosen, the default automatic screening will 
not be applied to these scans.  
         4.   Parallel-beam: a dataset will be identified as parallel-beam geometry if the source-
object distance is not shorter than 1000m (instead of 10m). 
***Bug fixes  
        1.   GPUreconServer: scale option was omitted.  
 
 
--Version, 1.6.7.0,   pre-release
This version requires update of NReconServer/GPUReconServer as well.  
***Added or modified functionalities  
         1.   A few modifications related to InstaRecon Server: down-sample option is now 
enabled for IRserver; possible warning messages from IR; error feedback is restored; a 
bitmask is implemented to allow easy detection of available features in different servers.  
         2.   To avoid cancelling a reconstruction accidently: one extra confirmation is placed.  
         3.   To allow raw data generated by non-SkyScan scanners: a few extra checks for the 
TIF format are removed. 
 
 
--Version, 1.6.6.2,   pre-release
  ***Added or modified functionalities  
         1.   When load a dataset: if one of the intermediate file (*_spr, *_pp1, *_pp2, *_arc) is 
selected, the corresponding dataset is loaded.  
         2.    By first start up of NRecon, option "x/y alignment with a reference scan": the 
window is no longer minimized. The window is now resizable. 
***Bug fixes  
        1.   NRecon, fine-tune function: for 8-digit datasets, the resulting preview images could 
not be scrolled for the advanced optical-axis tuning.  
        2.   NRecon, creating pseudo-parallel projections for post-alignment estimation:  failed 
for scans with 8-digit sequence numbers; didn't take rotation into account. Fixed. 
 
 
--Version, 1.6.6.0,  1st release for GPU reconstruction, March,  2012:
  ***Added or modified functionalities  
         1.   New GPU cluster license. See details in NRecon introduction in the HELP file.  
         2.   New configuration possibility: 1-1 cluster, free version. See details in NRecon 
introduction in the HELP file. 
***Bug fixes  
        1.   GPU server:   projection rotation in advanced function. The rotation was not done 
properly.  
        2.   GPU server:   bright arcs at edge of FOV when thermal-shifts present. 
 
 
--Version, 1.6.5.8,  (Beta release for GPU server), Feb. 27,  2012:
***Bug fixes  
        1.  GPU server:   blank images due to the introduction of the modified convolution filter 
in 1.6.5.7. This would only occur in case of multi-GPU. Fixed.  
        2.  NRecon, NReconServer, GPUReconServer: crashes may occur if the thermal shift 
flag presents in the projection file. Fixed.  
        3.  NRecon/InstaRecon:  inconsistent progress info due to NRecon modification in 
1.6.5.7. Reversed.  
 
 
--Version, 1.6.5.7,  (Beta release for GPU server), Feb. 21,  2012:
         ***Bug fixes  
        1.  GPU server:  slices outside of the recommended range were not handled properly.    
        2.  GPU server:  field-of-view edges, which were visible in reconstructions of datasets 
with truncated projections or with thermal-shifts,  are reduced.  
        3.   GPU server: prevention of failures due to memory allocation failures on GPU cards 
with more than 1.5GB memory.  
        4.   NRecon, fine-tune function:  parameter may go out of range (smoothing, ring 
correction, BHC). Fixed.   
        5.   NRecon, match/fusion option for oversize scans:  fusion function was incorrect if the 
scan length is relatively short (so that the reconstructed range in one scan overlaps with the 
scan 2 steps further).   
        6.   CPU/GPU server:   occasional dead-lock when cancelling a reconstruction.   
        7.   CPU server, spiral scan: intensity in reconstruction was incorrect (darker images than 
the preview).  
         ***Added or modified functionalities  
         1.   GPU server:   include CUDA cards with compute capability starting from 1.0.  
         2.   GPU server:   option provided to ignore one or more GPU's (double-click on the 
GPU line).  
         3.   GPU server:   a test function is provided (button "More..."), mainly to provide 
feedback back to SkyScan.  
         5.   GPU server:   the construction of the convolution filter is slightly modified, so that 
the intensities agree better with the CPU version.  
         6.   GPU server:   reconstruction work flow is optimized. This may provide substantial 
speedup on some cards, especially for datasets larger than 2K. 
 
 
--Version, 1.6.5.3,  (Beta release for GPU server), Jan. 20,  2012:
     ***Bug fixes  
        1.  GPU server:  if the projection width in pixel is not a multiple of 4, the reconstructed 
volume may be corrupted with oblique lines. 
        2.  GPU server:  if the thermal-shift values are non-zero, the ring artifacts correction was 
incorrectly applied. 
 
 
--Version, 1.6.5.2,  (Beta release for GPU server), Jan. 10,  2012:
     ***Bug fixes  
        1.  GPU server would crash if the projection width in pixel is not a multiple of 4. 
        2.  GPU server: if the GPU contains more than 2GB memory, the server would crash 
under certain conditions.  
        3.  GPU server, in case of multiple GPU: improved job division and safety checks on 
available resources.  
        4.  GPU server, multiple GPU:   if recon step other than 1, it might crash.  
        5.  NRecon + NReconServer: when working with the normal CPU server, progress 
information on NRecon might be shown incorrectly.     
        6.  NRecon: when ROI is not fully contained in the FOV during reconstruction, an 
invalid ROI description would be saved, and this would cause trouble when you load the 
dataset back again and you want to define a ROI.  From now on, a warning is given at startup 
of a reconstruction if the ROI is not fully contained inside the full image.  When loading a 
previously used ROI, validity checks is applied to prevent malfunction.  
        **Added or modified functionalities  
         1.   NRecon: keyboard shortcuts for zoom in (+), zoom out (-), fit-on-screen(*) and 
actual size(=). 
 
 
--Version, 1.6.5.0,  Beta release, Dec, 2011:
     A new NReconServer with GPU enabled is released for testing.  The modification in this 
release is largely related to this addition.
     ***Added or modified functionalities  
         1.   Options->Network configurations is slightly modified. Each server type 
(NReconServer, GPUReconServer, InstaReconServer) can now have its own communication 
number. This allows for different servers to co-exist on one PC; however, they can not be 
connected simultaneously to the same client.  
         2.    NReconServer main window: re-arranged but the basic function remains the same. 
An extra panel shows resource information. 
 
 
--Version, 1.6.4.8,  Nov,  2011: 
 A few bugs were introduced in the last release. This version is to fix them.      
***Bug fixes  
        1.   Ring correction level was reset to 1 in batch.  
        2.   The range of  ring correction level can be customized via menu "Preferences": it was 
not properly done so that discrepancies occurred between the max range given in the 
"Settings" panel and that given in the preferences.   
        3.   Total reconstruction time is recorded in the log file: it was not recorded in case of 
oversize reconstruction using match or fusion option.  
        4.   ROI on NRecon: when dragged outside of the image, the ROI got stuck.   
        5.   When deleting raw projections (e.g., required from the control software): the iif/oog 
files were left behind.  
        6.   Phase contrast: the alignment  image for DPC was incorrect. 
 
 
--Version, 1.6.4.7,  Oct,  2011: 
     ***Added or modified functionalities  
         1.   The range of  ring correction level can be customized via menu "Preferences". 
         2.   Total reconstruction time is recorded in the log file.  
         3.   It runs now up to 12 threads. 
     ***Bug fixes  
         1.   Polynomial beam-hardening correction: small coefficients (<0.1) could not be given 
correctly.  
         2.   Extreme scanning geometry: if the half-width of the camera is larger than the object-
source distance, reconstruction would fail.  
         3.   Preferences (default output folder): if you choose "sub-folder" here, the name of the 
sub-folder will be <Prefix>_Rec. It was incorrect in case of 4D dataset, and you might have 
trouble viewing it with DataViewer (gated scans on in vivo scanners and phase contrast 
scans.)   
         4.   X/Y alignment with a reference scan: the interpolation of the shift values was 
incorrect.  
 
 
--Version, 1.6.4.1,  May,  2011: 
     ***Added or modified functionalities  
         1.   Preferences (default output folder): upon request, if you choose "sub-folder" here, 
the name of the sub-folder will be <Prefix>_Rec, instead of "Reconstructed" in previous 
versions. 
     ***Bug fixes  
         1.   XY alignment with reference scan: couldn't be reloaded. This bug was introduced in 
1.6.4.0.  
 
 
--Version, 1.6.4.0,  May,  2011: 
     ***Added or modified functionalities  
         1.   Added format:  PNG as output format.  
         2.   Schedule batch job: upon user request, the time can now be set in minutes (accurate 
up to ~5 minutes).    
         3.   Negative focal length: now enabled (mainly relevant for optical scanners).  
         4.   Adaptation for SkyScan microXRF data.   
         5.   Resizing function: it can now also be added to batch manager; a few bug fixes and 
modifications to adapt to diverse input data (multi-channel; oversize; multi-gate; etc.).  
         6.   The function "Action->Adjust and reconstruct an oversize scan" is now integrated 
into the standard procedure. When you start a volume reconstruction or send a job to the batch 
manager, this option will be offered in case of an oversize scan and the requested 
reconstruction volume covers more than 1 scan part.  
         7.   Advanced functions related to system calibration: only available as advanced 
features.   
         8.   A slightly reformatted user manual is now available.  This manual groups a few 
pages in the HLP file and is suitable for printing and reading offline. 
***Bug fixes:  
         1.   The histogram window: linear scale and logarithm scale. The setting was not 
remembered.  
 
 
--Version, 1.6.3.4,  Nov. 4,  2010: 
     ***Added or modified functionalities  
         1.   Support FF-updates (ring correction and defect pixel correction) in 1173. 
 
 
--Version, 1.6.3.3,  Oct 2010:    
 ***Bug fixes:  
         1.   Thermal shift correction for oversize scans: when accept, the shift values in the last 
sub-scan was reset instead of updating.   
         2.   The setting for smoothing kernel (Preferences) was not recorded.  
         3.   When loading parameters from log/rcp file: the parameters were not shown. This 
bug was introduced in previous version 1.6.3.2. 
 
 
--Version, 1.6.3.2,  Aug 2010:    
 ***Bug fixes:  
         1.   Navigation image (projection) was not loaded properly for an incomplete oversize 
scan (e.g., 1 sub-scan out of a multi-part oversize scan; or a single scan with name convention 
of an oversize scan). 
 
 
--Version, 1.6.3.1,  July 2010: 
     ***Added or modified functionalities  
         1.  Support now reconstruction for differential phase contrast imaging (irrelevant for CT 
users).  
         2.  Bed-shift correction for rotating-gantry systems.  
         3.  Change general image display mode (COLORONCOLOR -> HALFTONE): subtle 
differences in large zoom.  
         4.  TView is removed from the toolbar.  
         5.  CTvox has been added to the toolbar.  
         6.  Support for datasets containing more than 10000 slices (4-digit file indices -> n-digit 
file indices, usually either 4 or 8).  Support of n-digit indices by other SkyScan software will 
follow soon. 
 ***Bug fixes:  
         1.   Protocol files could not be read properly on Windows 7.  
 
 
--Version, 1.6.3.0, Apr. 2010: 
     ***Added or modified functionalities  
         1.  NRecon/NReconServer: automatic startup/shutdown the server PC's. To startup a 
server PC remotely, MAC address is required. See FAQ list for how to set it up.  
         2.  In combination with InstaRecon 1.2.0.0:  enable defect pixel correction; enable 
smoothing kernels. 
 
 
--Version, 1.6.2.0, Feb. 2010: 
     ***Added or modified functionalities  
         1.  NRecon, option "X/Y alignment with a reference scan": more flexibility and options 
are given for this option. 
         2.  NRecon shortcut keys to start batch (CTRL ALT B), to start preview (CTRL ALT P), 
to start reconstruction (CTRL ALT S), to add current dataset to batch (CTRL ALT A).  
         3.  NRecon (UI):  similar to DataViewer, the profiling is now invoked by right-mouse 
click instead of left-click.  
         4.  NRecon (UI):  to invoke HU calibration, press Ctrl key and drag with right-mouse-
button over an area. 
         5.  NRecon, option "Show/Modify thermal shifts ...": this tool is revised and one can 
now modify the shifts manually and individually.  
         6.  NRecon(UI): in case of dual monitors, the position of the window is remembered. 
 ***Bug fixes:  
         1. NRecon, option "Adjust connections and then reconstruct an oversize scan": various 
bugs were found and fixed.  The bugs include failures in matching, failures in writing results 
due to an improper range, distorted image (in case of interpolation using JPG format).  
         2. NReconServer (preview):  in some extreme situations, the preview image was 
truncated. Fixed.  
         3. NReconServer:  in accurate mode, a portion of the slices were missing if more than 4 
threads are used. Fixed. 
 
 
--Version, 1.6.1.5, Oct. 2009: 
     ***Bug fixes:  
         1.   User interface (NRecon):  window not properly refreshed or flickering when the 
main window is being resized. Fixed.  
         2.   User interface (NRecon): in case of hot spots, the alignment images were not 
properly scaled, resulting in very dark images. Fixed.  
         3.   User interface (NRecon):  No server available appeared frequently when 
exchanging servers. Fixed.  
         4.   Default rcp (reconstruction protocol file): it was not enabled correctly.  
         5.   NRecon/Control software:  when NRecon is on and a request to load a dataset from 
within a control software, it was not initialized properly. Fixed. 
     ***Added or modified functionalities  
         1.  NReconServer: in case of 180 scans, use as many projections as there exist.   
         2.  NRecon, option "X/Y alignment with a reference scan": the region-of-comparison 
can now be defined as a rectangle instead of 2 lines.   
         3.  NRecon, option "Adjust and reconstruct an oversize scan": a new option to recover 
an oversize scan in case of mismatch at one of the junctions.  
         4.  NRecon/InstaRecon: no version control is applied to InstaRecon server, however, a 
warning is displayed in case of version mismatch.  Reconstruction with step other than 1 is 
now enabled.   
         5.  NRecon: "automatic naming" option in control software results in scan names 
containing "~0000~", which is a name convention for listmode scans. From now on, these 
scans (listmode name convention, but only one frame is available) are treated as a normal 
scan instead of a listmode scan. 
 
 
--Version 1.6.1.3, June 2009: 
     ***Bug fixes:  
         1.   Occasional crash of 64-bit NReconServer running on computers with large memory 
(>4GB).
     ***Added or modified functionalities  
         1.  NReconServer runs now up to 8 threads instead of maximum 4 threads. Depending 
on the PC, speed increase of up to 150% has been observed by doubling the number of 
threads.  
     
 
 
--Version 1.6.1.2, June 2009: 
     ***Bug fixes:  
         1.   In version 1.6.1.1, NRecon crashes at exit (mainly on 32-bit PC's).  This would also 
cause InstaReconServer to crash.  
 
 
--Version 1.6.1.1, June 2009: 
     ***Bug fixes:  
         1.  NReconserver crashed occassionally since version 1.6.0.3: bug is related to the 
introduction to JPG files with pixel size smaller than 389nm. 
         2.  Bug in batch manager:  if the "move up" or "remove" button is used while an 
oversize scan is involved, "loading failure" may occur afterwards.  
         3.  NReconServer: when changing the number of threads, it was not recorded. Fixed.
    ***Minor modifications:  
         1.  In preview, negative values may be truncated occasionally (can be seen on the 
histogram). This truncation is now removed.     
 
 
--Version 1.6.1.0, May 2009: 
     ***Minor modifications:  
         1.  Two additional smoothing kernels are introduced.     
         2.  X/Y alignment with a reference scan: the projection pairs to compare are now based 
on available projections, not on expected projections from the reference scan.
       
 
--Version 1.6.0.3, Apr. 20, 2009: 
     ***New functionalities  
         1.  It is now compatible with InstaRecon server. (See user manual for more 
information.) 
         2.  Reconstruction for scans with a spiral orbit. 
         3.  X/Y alignment with a reference scan. Specially useful for lengthy scans with high 
resolution. Actions->X/Y alignment with a reference scan. 
         4.  Reconstruction speed up for data from BIOPTONICS scanners.  
         5.  NReconServer: option to change the number of threads used for 
reconstruction.  Standard: 2.  Comments: Only ~10% speed increase going from 2-threads to 
4-threads can be observed on platforms tested so far.  
         6.  Option to schedule a batch job to start automatically at a given moment within 24 
hours. Actions->Schedule batch job.
     ***Minor modifications:  
          1.  UI: a small icon is displayed next to the server name.  When the server is active, this 
icon represents the server program in use. This is important to avoid confusions for users with 
a licensed InstaRecon server program.  
         2.   When loading a dataset with thermal-shift tags: the tags are first read to determine 
the range. This may take a while for large datasets: the progress info is displayed on the status 
bar below.  
         3.   UI: more help information/hints are given on the status bar below.   
         4.   NRecon: when starting up the first time, no batch manager and no preference dialog 
window will be shown. 
     ***Bug fixes NRecon/NReconServer:  
          1. Local version:  the server was started recursively. This caused dead-lock if the server 
couldn't be started. Fixed.  
          2. Output in JPG format:  if the pixel size is less than 389nm, it was incorrectly written. 
To read these JPG files correctly, latest DataViewer (>1.4.1.0) and CTan (>1.9.2.3) are 
required. 
          3. NRecon, reconstruction protocol (rcp): the default RCP file name was not kept..  
          
 
 
--Version 1.5.1.8,  Mar. 13, 2009: 
   Release for Bioptonics:  
***Minor modifications (only for datasets from Bioptonics scanners):  
          1.  Post-alignment:  default to a step size of 0.5 (settings, fine-tuning).  
          2.  Fine-tuning for defect-pixel masking
 
 
--Version 1.5.1.5,  May. 15, 2008: 
    Intermediate update for minor changes on urgent user request.  Other requests are not 
implemented yet but scheduled. 
    Update both NRecon and NReconServer. 
   ***Bug fixes NRecon/NReconServer:  
          1. Advanced engineering mode:  projection rotation option produced inconsistent 
images between preview image and final reconstructed images. This was particularly the case 
when ring correction is used.  
          2. NReconServer 64-bit:  incorrect available memory estimation in case more than 4 
GB RAM is available. 
          3. NRecon (Aug. 18):  NRecon would crash if it was started with a non-existing file. 
   ***Minor modifications:  
          1.  Image display: whenever no corresponding image is available, the projection image 
for navigation is displayed instead. 
     ***Added or modified functionalities  
         1.  Read-only input (such as a CD-rom, or any storage device with read-only attribute) is 
enabled.  This is implemented as an option in the user preferences. One can choose where to 
put the output files and some temporary files among: 1. Data folder, this is default and will 
write any output in the input folder; 2. Sub folder, a sub-folder "reconstructed" under the input 
folder will be used; 3. Given folder, a sub-folder named after the dataset itself will be created 
under this given folder. Whenever the input folder is read-only,  a given folder will be 
searched; if not defined, the user will be asked where to put the results.  Please note: certain 
advanced functions will still require to write into input folder and sometimes even the input 
images !  
         2.  Keyboard shortcuts for preview (Ctrl+Alt+P), start reconstruction  (Ctrl+Alt+P), start 
fine tuning   (Ctrl+Alt+T), and send to batch (Ctrl+Alt+B). 
          
 
--Version 1.5.1.4,  Feb. 25, 2008: 
    Intermediate update for bug fixing. Update both NRecon and NReconServer. 
   ***Bug fixes NRecon/NReconServer:  
          1.  Inconsistent slice numbers if the reconstruction step is other than 1.  The problem 
might occur in both cluster version and local version. With local version, the problem would 
only become  obvious in case of connected scans.  
          2.  Ring correction might be insufficient under special situation, e.g., when thermal 
shifts (a hidden parameter for users) are presented in acquired data. 
 
    ***Minor modifications:  
          1.  Recognize XRF data 
     ***Added or modified functionalities  
         1.  Read-only input (such as a CD-rom, or any storage device with read-only attribute) is 
enabled.  This is implemented as an option in the user preferences. One can choose where to 
put the output files and some temporary files among: 1. Data folder, this is default and will 
write any output in the input folder; 2. Sub folder, a sub-folder "reconstructed" under the input 
folder will be used; 3. Given folder, a sub-folder named after the dataset itself will be created 
under this given folder. Whenever the input folder is read-only,  a given folder will be 
searched; if not defined, the user will be asked where to put the results.  Please note: certain 
advanced functions will still require to write into input folder and sometimes even the input 
images !  
         2.  Keyboard shortcuts for preview (Ctrl+Alt+P), start reconstruction  (Ctrl+Alt+P), start 
fine tuning   (Ctrl+Alt+T), and send to batch (Ctrl+Alt+B). 
 
 
--Version 1.5.1.3, Nov. 6, 2007: 
    Intermediate update for bug fixing. Only NRecon in Cluster version needs to be updated.
   ***Bug fixes NRecon:  
          1.  Cluster version only: due to a bug the connections might be broken during a batch.  
          2.  Minor fix in the Advanced tab:  information about defect pixels were not presented 
well. 
 
 
--Version 1.5.1.2, Nov. 22, 2007: 
   Internal pre-release only.
 
 
--Version 1.5.1.1, Nov. 6, 2007: 
    Both NRecon and NReconServer should be updated.
    In preparing for 64-bit version, several functions (convolution, median filtering, JPG 
library) had to be replaced. This may introduce minor negligible differences due to rounding 
errors relative to previous versions.
    NReconServer is now provided in 64-bit. This version works together with 32-bit NRecon. 
No 64-bit NRecon is provided.
     ***Added or modified functionalities  
         1.  Ring artifacts correction using defect pixel mask: a defect pixel on camera 
(abnormally high or low intensity) may cause severe rings. These pixels can now be detected 
(automatic or manual adjustment) and replaced by neighboring pixels.  
         2.  Data consistency check:  a new option in menu Actions for trouble shooting purpose.  
         3.  An additional reconstruction mode is added as an option:  more accurate but much 
slower (see Preferences page).  
         4.  NRecon/NReconServer cluster: added option to allow user to view the speed record 
of each node, and alter it if necessary (see documentation for connection window).  
         5.  NRecon/NReconServer cluster: increased stability in case of read/write failure due to 
the use of multiple nodes.  
         6.  NRecon/NReconServer cluster: slightly improved job distribution (balance).   
         7.  Undersampling option: variable undersampling factor (down to 250x250). The 
undersampling is now done at reconstruction level.  
         8.  NRecon/NReconServer cluster:  connection is automatically disconnected if the 
connection stays idle for a given amount of time..  
         9.  Recognize and enable reconstruction of a 4D scan (acquired with list-mode and 
sorted with Tsort). 
   ***Subtle modifications:  
          1.  Image range:  by check on "positive values only" in the preferences, the lower range 
would be set at 0  at the first preview or whenever the auto button is clicked.  
          2.  Histogram: double-click in the histogram window will switch on/off log scale of the 
vertical aixs.  
          3.  Hounsfield unit:   default HU calibration on 1076 scanner (control software) is 
recognized, if any.  
          4.  External programs (CTan, DataViewer, TView) can be always started, even if there 
is no result to view.  
          5.  Multiple entries of the same dataset in batch: it is now allowed (but use it with 
caution!). Any existing results will be warned and may be removed at the time of submission. 
Once batch processing starts, no files will be removed explicitly (overwriting can happen).   
          6.  NReconServer_error.log is relocated: instead of using the directory where 
NReconServer is installed, this file is located now in the same system directory of NRecon 
if  NRecon also runs on the computer, otherwise in C:\SkyScan\NRecon (automatically 
created if not exist).  
          7.  User interface is slightly adapted: a new tab called "Advanced..." is added for a few 
parameters which are not frequently used. 
     ***Bug fixes NRecon:  
          1.  Post-alignment display: change of color scale was not remembered.  
          2.  Post-alignment estimation: it would fail in case of small projection image, and/or 
larger image portion; wrong in case of big sample due to incorrect estimation of  air intensity.   
          3.  Very small discontinuity at optical axis in vertical direction (visible in 
saggital/coronal view for some objects): caused by incorrect interpolation. Fixed.   
          4.  Navigation window:  when type a slice number, image was not displayed 
automatically.   
          5.  NRecon/NReconServer local: dead loop at start up if NReconServer could not be 
started normally. Fixed. 
 
 
--Version 1.5.0, Feb. 19, 2007:     Intermediate release for optical scanners. 
     Both NRecon and NReconServer should be updated.
     Major modification: added processing step to remove defect pixels (mask threshold) .  
 
 
--Version 1.4.4, July. 31, 2006: 
     Both Nrecon and NReconServer should be updated.
     ***Bug fixes NRecon:  
          1.  The "use 180+ only" flag was omitted when a job was sent to the batch manager. 
          2.  The [bottom, top] range of an oversized scan might be altered when sent to the batch 
manager.  
          3.  Job distribution might be unbalanced among nodes for an oversized scan.   
          4.  Fine tuning for post-alignment: when the last reconstructed was with alignment 0, 
viewing was disabled. 
     ***Bug fixes NReconServer:  
          1.  A bug causes failure to do reconstruction (conv. failed). Problem occurred mainly 
for dataset with large cone angle (mostly, large dataset as well), when the smoothing option is 
used and when the [bottom, top] range is outside of the recommended area.  
          2.  Minor changes to avoid read/write error/conflicts. This may cause slightly longer 
waiting time in case of  I/O problems.  
   ***Subtle modifications:  
          1.  "Remove all" button on the batch manger window. 
          2.  Title bar: remaining time in minutes is given.  
          3.  NReconServer: dead-pixel mask is in use. The mask is created automatically by 
searching for pixels with zero value. This function is hidden from users and is always 
applied. 
 
 
--Version 1.4.3, Feb. 13, 2006: 
     Both Nrecon and NReconServer should be updated. 
     ***Bug fixes:  
          1.  Small differences (in the order of 1/10000 ~ 1/1000)  in images could be observed in 
some cases when repeating reconstruction with same parameters, for the same or different 
slice ranges --- a bug reported by a careful user:  many thanks from the programmer. There 
were several causes for this bug:  incorrect projection range for a  partial cross-section range 
in certain combination of the parameters; slightly different interpolation method in two 
different reconstruction modes; a "randomness" mechanism in case of half-pixel post-
alignment. This bug has been fixed and tested carefully.  As a result of the bug fix, the 
preview is slightly slower than previous versions.  
          2.  A bug in I/O when mapped network drive is used. More explanation can be found in 
the installation guide relating to I/O and shared directory.  
          3.  Combination of undersampling and ring-artifacts correction did not work: this bug 
was introduced only since version 1.4.2 .  
          4.  Bug reported and fixed on Jan. 23, 2006 (only NRecon is concerned). ROI used 
could  be different than what the user defined. This would occur in limited situations: after 
loading parameters from a log file or from a predefined rcp file with ROI, and  the reference 
length of the ROI was different from the projection width as shown on the "overview" page, 
and the ROI is situated towards the right/bottom edges.  After this bug fix, the reference 
length of the ROI and the projection width as shown on the "overview" page should always be 
the same, no matter how and from where you retrieve the ROI definition.  
          5. Three options in the Preferences were ignored silently:  "Default output file format: 
BMP", "Draw scales as default", "Def. cross-section rotation (in deg.)".  Now they will be 
taken into account when "loading last-used parameters" becomes effective, i.e., when a 
dataset is not already in the batch list, and has never been reconstructed  before and the option 
"Use last-used param. instead of default protocol" has been checked.  Bug fixed on Jan. 30, 
2006. 
          6. Reconstruction range in batch: if the range (top/bottom slices)  was outside of the 
recommended range, it was automatically "shrunken" to within the recommended 
range.  This  undesired feature is removed now.  Feb. 13, 2006.
    ***Subtle modifications:  
        1.  To avoid overwriting, there is now an option to cancel reconstruction if previously 
reconstructed files are found ( Jan. 30, 2006). 
        2.  Cluster version only:  at start up, if there is no license found, a license.txt file (in the 
directory where NRecon is located) may be saved  with the license ID for applying for license 
later ( Jan. 30, 2006). 
     ***Added or modified functionalities  
         1.  A non-standard option is added, upon request of some users: higher-order polynomial 
beam-hardening correction, known as "external beam hardening correction" for the ConeRec 
users. To avoid surprises, please read the document (FAQ list) about it carefully before 
switching this option on.  
         2.  A non-standard 32-bit floating-point file format (F4F) is introduced.  Again, to avoid 
surprises, you are kindly asked to read the document (FAQ list) first before switching it on. 
This file format is used as an additional output dataset, not as an alternative output: you will 
always get  two output datasets if this option is turned on and this file format will consume 4 
times disk space of  that for a BMP dataset!  The further support of this file format from 
SkyScan is very limited: only by DataViewer  (from version 1.2.2 on). 
 
 
--Version 1.4.2, Dec. 12, 2005: 
     Both Nrecon and NReconServer should be updated. 
     ***Bug fixes:  
          1.  Dataset with an odd projection width (e.g., 1241x1028 matrix which can be 
generated by 1172 scanners) could not be reconstructed. 
          2.  During an oversized scan, the user interface was temporarily enabled between 
reconstructions of two sub-scans: this might cause unnecessary user interference to the 
reconstruction and might have the reconstruction process  unexpectedly altered.    
          3.  TIFF file format (output): the tags were not strictly in ascending order which is 
against the rule but would hardly cause any problem in most cases. (Some third-party 
software might require this rule to be respected. )    
          4.  ROI option in batch:  due to a bug the ROI actually used was the last-used-ROI-for-
the-given-matrixsize and could be completely different than what you meant. Now fixed.      
          5.  The shadow image was put upside-down accidentally after a reconstruction with 
output format JPEG: only exist since version 1.4 and it did not have any consequence on your 
resulting images, unless you reconstruct the same dataset a second time immediately --- 
then  the reference image (*_spr.bmp) might be upside-down. Now fixed.  
     ***Added or modified functionalities  
         1.  Ring artefact correction procedure to cope with our dual-camera 1178 model.  Added 
functions for NRecon to work together with a control software (by the time of this update, 
only for 1178 model). 
         2.  Added 8-bit TIFF as input (only for projection dataset --- potential format for 1178 
model).   
         3.  Slight improvement in image quality: occasionally it could be noticed that the 
left/right sides of a cross-section image were not symmetric (problem more pronounced in 
case of a combination of horizontal oversize and 180+ scans). This is now improved.  
    ***Subtle modifications:  
        1.  The display (Actions->Save as ...) can now also be saved in JPG format, using the 
compression factor as defined in Options->Preferences. 
        2.  The log file: version number of NRecon is now in 3 digits, i.e., 1.4.2 instead of 1.4.  
        3.  Parameter information is now recorded in NReconServer_error.log --- for debug 
purpose only.
 
 
--Version 1.4.1, Nov. 21, 2005:  
         Update due to a bug which changes the noise pattern in the resulting cross-sections: for 
both cluster version and local version. Both NRecon and NReconServer have to be updated.  
     ***Bug fixes:  
        1. The filtering kernel was accidentally changed from Hamming window to RAMP filter 
in 1.4.0. This would cause more noisy image, therefore higher smoothing number would be 
necessary.  The filter kernel is now switched back to Hamming window (default filtering for 
CT reconstruction).  
 
 
 
--Version 1.4, Nov. 1, 2005:  
        No major improvement/change in image quality or reconstruction speed in this version. 
However, a few new functions will make it much easier to use.  
 
***Added or modified functionalities  
   1. A free version of NRecon/NReconServer is now provided: the local 
NRecon/NReconServer, which is meant to replace ConeRec gradually.  The local version has 
full functionality as the distributed/cluster version, but both NRecon and NReconServer have 
to run on one and the same computer. This version can be downloaded for free.  
   2. The distributed/cluster NRecon/NReconServer:  the NRecon license can be installed for 
all users or only for the current user (relevant for multi-user environment only). No demo 
version is made available any more (the local version should be used for that purpose). A one-
month evaluation license is available for free upon request.  
   3. The process of oversized scans  has been completely reconsidered and redone: they can 
be now processed  as if they are just one normal scan, with a few precautions. Required by 
several users, the post-alignment values can be adjusted per sub-scan. It is recommended to 
read the document to fully utilize the features for oversized scans.  
  4. Post-alignment correction. Improved accuracy in estimation. Profiling is enabled on the 
alignment image to help manual adjustment. The post-alignment option is now also available 
for in-vivo scanners (1076, 1078). See documentation for more details.  
  5. A "fine-tuning" function is provided to help users adjust parameters by a few trials: the 
post-alignment, the beam-hardening, the ring-correction level and the smoothing width. More 
details in the documentation. 
  6. Improved functionalities for saving/loading a reconstruction protocol file (*.rcp). 
Possibility to view/edit a protocol file is also provided. A default protocol file can be defined 
in the preferences. This feature will become important when NRecon is used together with a 
control program (not yet fully implemented in control programs).  
  7. Disk space check before starting a reconstruction/batch.  
  8. Added JPG format (8-bit): you may save the cross-sections directly in jpg format. It is 
recommended to use 100% compression factor in order to keep all the details.  
 
***Bug fixes:  
  9.   ROI is now forced to be within FOV.  
  10.   Corrupted alignment image and failure during reconstruction: it was caused by datasets 
whose projection width is not a multiple of 4 (e.g., 1023 instead of 1024).  
  11. Occasionally corrupted scales information, wrong z value in oversized scans: now 
fixed/improved.  
  12. The progress window disappeared occasionally, which made cancelling a 
reconstruction  in a decent way impossible. Fixed.  
  13. Negative time estimation: fixed.  
 
***Subtle modifications:  
  14.  Zooming function: the image will stay focused when you zoom in/out.  
  15.  Title bar: progress information are put here. Dataset information are now to be found in 
the overview page.  
  16.  For the *.spr image (the reference shadow image, used by DataViewer, CTan, TView, 
etc.), an option (set in preferences) is given to have inverted color scale with respect to the 
cross-section images.  
  17.  Double-click anywhere on the projection image will move the preview slice (the green 
line) to that position. Also you may click on the number fastest on the reconstruction page to 
move the current preview slice to the fastest position.   
  18.  Drag-and-drop a dataset to NRecon or start NRecon from a control program: no warning 
will be given if there is already a copy running. Instead, the running copy will be brought to 
the foreground and the given dataset will be loaded if the running copy was not busy.   
 
 
 
 
--Version 1.3 (Release version), March 31, 2005:  
 
***Bug fixes:  
    1. Inconsistency between preview image and final reconstruction, when ring artifact 
correction is used. The inconsistency could be noticed as well at the edge slices of a volume 
reconstruction, when ring artefact correction is used. 
    2. No alignment image (display only) or wrong alignment image, but no influence on the 
reconstructed image. It occured for certain type of scanner types due to the internal thermal-
shift correction(mainly on the Nano CT scanners).  
    3. Memory violation error from NReconServer, caused by incorrect estimation of memory 
requirement. It happened very rarely but rather consistently: increase the reconstruction range 
slice by slice to the point that the reconstruction mode is about to change (internal and 
automatic).  
   4. Problem could occur when both smoothing and under-sampling are used. 
 
***Added or modified functionalities  
   5. Added functionality to allow profiling: use left mouse-button click, hold and drag.  
   6. Added icons on toolbar for zooming.  
   7. Added button on tool bar to allow user to go through projections/cross-section fast 
without starting up another program.  
   8. Added function to have 2 configurations (on connection window): local and network 
configuration. One can switch one configuration to another easily. Simplified network 
configuration set up window.  
   9. Square ROI -> rectangular ROI. By default, the ROI is assumed to be rectangular, but 
you may choose to force the ROI to be square as it was before.  
  10. Retrieve parameters created by ConeRec: the dynamic range is automatically adjusted.  
  11. Parameter retrieving at loading time: the previously used parameters (except post-
alignment value) can be loaded automatically. You may switch it off in the Preferences if you 
do not like this feature.  
  12. Ring artefact correction level: increased from 10 to 20. The level remains absolute,  i.e., 
3 on a range of 0-10 is the same as 3 on a range of 0-20.  
  13. A few "permanent" windows could be closed/destroyed accidently by pressing 
Esc/Enter/Space key. This is now fixed. 
  14. Improved time estimation and job division based on automatic time recording. 
Reconstruction times are automatically recorded when no ROI is used (most reliable).  
  15. Last version aborts reconstruction when one of the servers fails. This version would 
continue as long as there is at least one server remains going. The "lost" work will be re-
distributed later.  
 
 
 
 
--Version 1.2 (Beta version), Feb. 2005: 
 
