Working in the compare view

VisiQuick starts up in the Compare view. The compare view is a workspace that allows you to examine, compare and modify images stored in a patient record. When you open a patient record in the compare view, thumbnails of all the stored images will appear in a column on the left side of the screen. The rest of the screen is split into view frames.

Changing the view frames layout

There are many different layouts available in the compare view.

To change the layout of the view frames, press one of the 4 split-screen layout buttons above the thumbnail list or select View > split screen from the menu. Keyboard shortcuts are:

Ctrl-1 one large frame

Ctrl-2 2x2 grid

Ctrl-3 3x3 grid

Ctrl-9 1 large over 4 small

To configure a layout button for a different layout scheme, right-click the button and choose a new layout from the pull-down list.

Viewing images in the compare view

To view an image, click a thumbnail in the left-hand thumbnail list. The image will appear in the first unoccupied frame.

To place an image in a specified frame, click inside the frame, then click the thumbnail, or alternately, click and drag the thumbnail to the frame.

Moving images

To move an image to a different frame, click and drag the image to the new frame. If you move an image to an occupied frame, the old image is replaced, although still available in the thumbnail list.

Closing images

To remove an image from a view frame, right-click the image and select Close. From the keyboard, press Backspace to close the active image, or press Ctrl-Backspace to close all the images.

Zooming images

The easiest way to zoom an image is to double-click it, displaying it in full-screen mode. A single click returns it to normal mode.

Zooming an image can also be done by rolling the wheel in the mouse. You don’t need to first select the zoom tool.

To zoom in on an image without using a wheel, select the magnifying glass tool on the toolbar. Clicking the image with the + magnifying glass will zoom in. To zoom out, select the – magnifying glass and click the image.

Pressing the Alt key will toggle between zooming in and zooming out while using the + magnifying glass.

While you are pressing the left mouse button to zoom in with the + magnifying glass, pressing the right mouse button will cause the image to zoom out.

To position the zoomed image in its window, click the image and drag the mouse.

Viewing full-screen

Double–click an image to view it in full-screen mode. Click the full-screen image to return to the compare view.

Enhancing images in the compare view

There are many tools you can use to enhance patient images in the compare view.

Searching for caries

The histogram equalization filter optimizes contrast in x-ray images to search for caries. Select the image and click above the thumbnail list.

Quick contrast adjustment

To quickly adjust the image contrast, click above the thumbnail list.

Restore the original image

To discard all changes to an image and restore the original, click above the thumbnail or right-click the image and select Reset all or press Ctrl-spacebar.

Negative

To convert an image to its negative, click on the toolbar or press ctrl-n. Click again to deactivate.

Sharpen

To increase the definition between color areas in an image, click on the toolbar. Click again to deactivate.

See also the description for the Super filters below.

Smooth

To decrease the definition between color areas in an image, click on the toolbar. Click again to deactivate.

Adjusting the contrast and brightness

To adjust the brightness and contrast with the mouse, click on the toolbar. Click and drag on the image to adjust it. Moving the mouse up and down increases and decreases the brightness. Moving the mouse left and right increases and decreases the contrast. Click the icon again to deactivate.

To adjust contrast and brightness with the keyboard, select and image and press ctrl-up and ctrl-down to adjust the brightness, ctrl-left and ctrl-right to adjust the contrast.

Using the super filter

The super filter enhances bone and tooth borders in an image. To activate the super filter, select an image and click the A-B-C-D buttons over the thumbnail list.

A – low filter intensity

B – medium filter intensity

C – high filter intensity

D – extreme filter intensity – this filter is specially tuned to enhance the big nerve in the jaw and sinus shapes in panoramic x-rays.

Note: The D super filter is very processor intensive and can take up several minutes to complete on large images using a slow computer.

Viewing bitewing sets

To quickly view all of a patient’s bitewing x rays, click the button on the taskbar or press Alt-Spacebar. The most recent set of bitewings will appear on top, the next most recent, underneath.