Topics
Imaging
Internet and Web Site
Scanning Radiographs
PolyWare Results
Supported Hip Systems
Imaging
Q: Why do high-color TIFF images appear low-resolution or chunky in PolyWare?
A: It is likely that your Windows Display Properties are not set to use all available colors. In Windows, go to the Control Panel -> Display -> Settings area and, if possible, adjust the Color Palette setting upwards. This will allow applications to use more colors.
Internet and Web Site
Q: When I use Netscape to download demos from DDI's web site, I get garbage on the screen and no file. What's wrong?
A: We received several reports about this problem between May and September. It was actually a configuration problem on our new Internet Service Provider's systems. The problem is fixed and it only affected NetscapeŽ 4.X users.
If Netscape attempts to download large files as web pages, simply hold down the Shift key while selecting the link. The familiar "Save As" dialog box will appear, allowing you to save the file properly.
Scanning Radiographs
Q: What TIFF format should I use when scanning radiographs for use with PolyWare?
A: PolyWare works best with TIFF grayscale images, with at least 256 gray-levels. PolyWare supports TIFF images with up to 65,536 gray-levels. For accuracy, images should be scanned at no less than 200 dpi. Scanning images at greater than 400 dpi does not make a measurable difference in results, and simply consumes more disk space.
PolyWare Results
Q: How can I sort the results stored in the .PW files?
A: PolyWare does not currently have built-in sorting capabilities. However, PolyWare's results can be imported into spreadsheet applications, such as Excel, and then sorted.
Simply change the file extension of PolyWare's result files from .PW to .TXT. It is best to copy the .PW files to .TXT, rather than rename them. Then start your spreadsheet application and open the .TXT file. The spreadsheet will realize that the data is space delimited. You may need to adjust a few of the columns. Once the file is imported, there are several methods of sorting the data.
Supported Hip Systems
Q: I need to measure the wear of a hip implant brand that is not supported by PolyWare. Can new brands be added to PolyWare?
A: The hip systems that PolyWare supports are driven by demand. Hip systems from popular manufacturers (i.e. DePuy, Zimmer, Biomet, etc) were added first. However, we routinely add support for new brands as demand increases. For instance we recently added support for Sulzer and Encore brands.
In order to add new brands to PolyWare, we must obtain complete product specifications. This means we need actual product blueprints. Manufacturers do not simply give-out this type of information. Therefore we usually need to sign non-disclodure agreements with the manufacturer to get this information. Once we have the product specifications it takes about 2 to 4 weeks to incorporate it into PolyWare.