Frequently Ask Questions (FAQ)

1. What platforms (operating systems) does your software run on?
   

   All our software run on PC running Windows, including Windows 95, 98, NT, 2000, XP and Vista.
   
   The software would probably run on Linux or Unix system if they have a Windows binary emulator installed but we have not tested them for compatibility.
   

2. What are the system requirements?
   

   • Operating System: Windows (95, 98, NT, 2000, XP or Vista)
     
   • USB port: we need one to plug the dongle that contains the license
     
   • SCSI port: you need one to plug the disk or tape drives used to read the archives
     

3. Can I have a temporary license to evaluate your software?
   

   You do not need any license to evaluate the software!
   Just download the software from our web site (readOmatic is now included in the DICOMatic download). Without licenses, the software has some limitations: The "Push to DICOM Server" and "store in DICOM Format" options will not be available and it will let your read only 5 images per session. These will be named "readOmatic_DEMO_1" to "readOmatic_DEMO_5" in the "C:\temp" directory.
   
   If you encounter medias that we can not read, please contact us, we may be able to add the support of your media to our product.

4. What are the prices and do you have an educational discount available?
   

   You can find the pricing of DICOMatic and its modules and the information on how to order a license, on this "how to buy a license" page.

   There is a no educational discount for DICOMatic or any of its modules.
   

5. We wish to purchase a license. What is the procedure for ordering/paying?
   

   You can find the procedure to purchase a license on this "how to buy a license" page.
   In this page, you will also have access to our automatic quote generator and order forms.
   

1. The application does not see my licenses
   

   Most problems with the licenses can be solved by following the instructions in the License troubleshooting page.

2. Do I have to uninstall the previous version when I upgrade the software?
   

   No you dont. Just install the new version on top of the old one.

   However with the new installation, some of the tables may have changed. Since you may have a copy of these files in your user directory (C:\Documents and Settings\your name here\Application Data\TomoVision), your copy may be out of date. If it is, the program will let you know. If which case you can either delete your copy to force the program to use the new one from the installation directory, or add the latest modifications to your copy of the files.

   Also, if your upgrade license has expired, the new version of the software will not be recognized by the licenses.

   If this is the case, you may want to renew your update contract.

3. Can I transfer my licenses to another computer?
   

   Yes you can, the license is in your dongle. Just install the program on the new machine and move your dongle to that system.

1. My drives are not recognised by the program. What can I do ?
   

   The first thing to check is whether you have the ASPI drivers installed or not. If you do not have the ASPI driveres installed, readOmatic will tell you. It will display the following message in the text window:
   "WARNING: The ASPI interface is not present on this system!..."
   (you may have to scroll the window a bit since this is one of the first message it will display.)
   If you see this message, then download and install the free ASPI drivers from Adpatec. (See box)
   
   If you already have the ASPI drivers, then it may be that you drive is not included in the "SCSI_List.dat" file. That file contains all the drives that readOmatic recognized. If it is not already in the file, you can add it using the configuration/SCSI_List interface. For more information on this process please refer to the readOmatic's manual.

2. I get a "Unknown format" message when I try to read my archive. What can I do ?
   

   There are so many different archive format out there, it is to be expected that readOmatic can not recognize them all!
   
   It could be that your disk or tape is in a completely new (to us) format, or maybe it is just a slight variation of a known format.
   
   The best thing to do is to send us a sample of these media. If it is just a variation of a known format, it should be fairly simple for us to modify the program so that it can recognize your archives. If it is a format we do not know, then things become more tricky... We may still be able to add this format to our reader, but we will need some help from you! We will need sample media, along with all the information you have on the archives and their origin (what scanner produce them, how was it saved...). Of course, if you have the format description it would be a big help.
   
   We do not charge anything for this, but we do expect that, if we manage to add this format to our program, you will buy a license (if you did not already have one). However, if you send us an original disk or tape, we will ask that you pay for the FedEx return fee. We can either bill you for the shipping, or you can provide us with a FedEx account we can use.
   
   Since the archives usually contain patient information, you will want to sign and fax us a copy of our confidentiality agreement. We will counter sign it and fax it back to you. (See box)
   
   If you want to send us a disk (MOD or WORM), you have 2 choices:

   • You can send us the original media by FedEx and we will ship it back to you within a week. When we receive the media, we ensure that it is "write protected", make a copy of it, and return the original. We only work from the copy to minimize the risk of anything happening to the original.
   • You can make a copy of the original using our SCSI_Duplicate tool and send us the copy. (See box)

3. I get an "Incompatible Medium" message. What can I do ?
   

   This is a hardware message. It is given directly by your drive, readOmatic is just the messenger here. There's a few possible reasons why the drive give you this warning:

   • You are attempting to read a Pioneer disk in a non-Pioneer drive (or vise-versa)
   • You are attempting to read a WORM disk in a drive that can only read MOD disks (or vise-versa)
   • You are attempting to read a disk having a higher data density than what your drive can read
   • Your have a hardware problem with your drive

4. The "Save as DICOM" button is not enabled
   

   This option is only enabled if you have a valid readOmatic module license and DICOMatic's conversion modules is present in the same directory as the readOmatic module (by default: c:\Program Files\TomoVision).

5. The "Push to DICOM PACS" is not enabled
   

   This option is only enabled if both DICOMatic's conversion modules and one of the "Push" programs are present in the same directory as the readOmatic module (by default: c:\Program Files\TomoVision). For the "push" program, you can use either Mallinckrodt "send_Image" or OFFIS "storescu" (See box).

6. Can I use readOmatic from a batch or another application ?
   

   No, sorry. ReadOmatic is designed as an interactive program, it can not work from a batch.

7. What kind of SCSI card do I need ?
   

   The scanner's archive media are either MOD disks, WORM disks or tapes. The drives needed to read these archives are all SCSI devices, and they are all rather slow devices. So you do not need one of the fast and fancy SCSI card used to access very high-speed hard drives. You can use any low performance cards designed for scanners (such as the Adaptec's 19160).
   
   The next thing to watch for is the cable you will use to hook up your drive to the PC's card. Presently, for external devices, there's at least 4 different connectors used on these devices: DB-25, CENT50, HDB50, HDB68. You have to make sure your cables will have the proper connectors to link-up the components.

8. Can I use a laptop to read my archives ?
   

   Yes you can. The only problem you may have is with the SCSI link between your laptop and the SCSI drives. The Adaptec's ASPI drivers do not seem to work with USB to SCSI adapters. However, we have tested the application with a CardBus SCSI adapter (Adaptec's SlimSCSI 1480) and it worked just fine.

9. Where can I find the SCSI drive to read my medium ?
   

   There's a number of vendors that will provide new or refurbished SCSI drives to read your archives. At TomoVision, we are buying our drives from Microtechnologies.