You can download a binary executables of Stradx, StackSX and SelectSX now. These are Intel binaries for PCs running the Linux operating system. We have tested the Linux version of Stradx on PCs running Redhat 6.0 and above, though we can see no reason why Stradx should not be compatible with other current flavours of Linux.
You can review previously recorded 3D ultrasound data sets on any PC. If you wish to acquire ultrasound data as well, you will need a conventional 2D ultrasound machine and a video acquisition card that:
Alternatively, if you have access to the analogue RF ultrasound signals from an ultrasound machine, you can acquire freehand 3D RF ultrasound using a Gage digital input board.
If you wish to make quantitative measurements from the 3D ultrasound data, you will also need a supported position sensor.
Download Stradx, StackSX and SelectSX now.
Note that the binary will time-out every 6 months or so. When this happens, simply return to this website to download the latest release of Stradx. If you are interested in buying a license to use the source code of Stradx, please email Richard Prager.
First of all, make sure you have enough memory in your machine. 64 MBytes is an absolute minimum memory requirement; we use 256 MBytes. If you wish to use Stradx's body registration facilities, make sure the file wireframe.data is installed in the same directory as the Stradx executable: you will also need to specify the full path of the Stradx executable when you run Stradx (ie. do not rely on symbolic links or your shell's search path), otherwise Stradx will not be able to find the wireframe.data file.
Stradx uses Motif for its user interface and OpenGL for its graphics, and therefore expects to be able to dynamically link against the relevant libraries, namely libXm.so.2 for Motif, and libGL.so.1 and libGLU.so.1 for OpenGL. These come standard with all recent Linux distributions, though you may need to manually install the appropriate package for libXm.so.2 (eg. openmotif21-libs-2.1.30MLI4-124 on SuSE 9.3).
You may wish to set up a .stradxrc file in your home directory.
In order to record freehand 3D ultrasound data, you first need to connect the ultrasound machine to one of the video inputs on the PC's video acquisition card. You may also need a position sensor to record the position of the ultrasound probe during the scan. You can use Stradx without a position sensor, but the data will not be accurate enough for quantitative measurements. Stradx supports the MiniBird, LaserBird and Flock of Birds position sensors produced by Ascension Technology Corporation, the Fastrak produced by Polhemus and the Polaris produced by Northern Digital. You should connect one of these sensors to one of the serial ports of the PC or, if your computer does not have old-style serial ports, to a USB port via a USB-serial converter. Make sure that all users have permission to read and write to the appropriate serial device (/dev/ttyS0 or /dev/ttyS1 for old-style serial ports, /dev/usb/ttyUSB0 or /dev/usb/ttyUSB1 for USB-serial converters). Remember which serial port you have chosen, as you will need this information to configure Stradx.
The Polaris optical sensor is the most accurate but also the most expensive. Both magnetic sensors appear to give similar accuracy but the Bird seems less affected by non-ferrous metals in the vicinity. Many users of the Bird mount the receiver directly on the body of the ultrasound probe. Users of the Fastrak generally use a rigid plastic mount to offset the receiver by about 4 inches from the probe.
Make sure you have correctly installed the appropriate `Video for Linux 2' driver for your video acquisition card. The `Video for Linux 2' standard has recently been modified. We provide different versions of Stradx for the new and old API. If you have an existing system with the old API, run stradx_old_v4l2. The new API comes with kernel 2.6, or you can patch it into an earlier kernel by following the instructions here . For the new API, run stradx_new_v4l2. Note that you'll need to use the new API if your video card has a recent chipset, like the Philips saa7134. If you see the message QUERYCAP ioctl in construct_v4l2_buffer failed: Invalid argument, you're either running the wrong version of Stradx for your `Video for Linux 2' installation, or you're running `Video for Linux' instead of `Video for Linux 2'. Also, check that the appropriate kernel modules are loaded (or add appropriate entries to /etc/modules.conf or /etc/conf.modules to make the modules load automatically). Specific instructions for installing `Video for Linux 2' on vanilla Redhat 9 Linux systems are available here. More recent distrubtions (eg. SuSE 9.3) offer full `Video for Linux 2' functionality straight out of the box.
The Linux version of Stradx takes the usual X-toolkit command line arguments plus three extra ones.