Dear Recipient,
This briefing provides you with the latest news about PMOD’s products and services, events, and training opportunities.
PMOD Version 4.0 Released
The new version 4.0 of PMOD is now available, with various improvements across all tools. Below is a small selection of the v4.0 innovations. They are further documented in the Release Notes on our website.
The PSEG tool has been extended by a new workflow supporting users with a need to assess hot lesions in static PET images. It includes the PERCIST methodology for objectively outlining and documenting the uptake in oncologic whole-body scans, yet offers additional features. For example, the lesion outlining result can be combined with texture analysis, and can directly be converted into training data sets for machine learning.
The VOI interface has been reorganized in a new “Compact” layout. It covers less space and provides better functional grouping. As we are confident that it will make VOI analysis easier and more efficient, it is the new default layout. The functionality is augmented by configurable peak sphere volume, statistics menu reorganization, VOI locking, VOI selection directly in the image, speed improvements, and more.
The PFUS and PNEURO tools will be extended by the highly flexible and powerful ANTS methodology for elastic matching developed by Avants et al. As the implementation is not fully ready yet, it will be introduced in one of the upcoming maintenance builds.
An object VOI with left ventricular shape was added in PCARD for better initialization of the model dimension.
Speed-up of GTM partial-volume correction by multi-threading.
Further improvements in image anonymization.
A new external tool facilitates the temporal resampling of dynamic images.
Upgrading to PMOD Version 4.0: see bottom of newsletter. The subsequent annual PMOD version 4.1 is scheduled for November 2019.
New Twilite Three Blood Sampling System – Shipping Now
This November, Swisstrace have released the latest version of their successful online blood sampling system for arterial input curve acquisition. The new twilite three replaces the previous models and features standalone operation, with live data display, as well as improved ergonomics and robustness for regular transport. Naturally the close integration with PMOD for input curve processing and kinetic modeling is maintained, as well as commitment to provide dedicated onsite training for both clinical and preclinical applications. For existing twilite customers, Swisstrace offers a very economical upgrade solution with a five year warranty to secure your investment. Please visit the Swisstrace website for details and contact information.
PMOD at Upcoming Events
PMOD’s presence at public events in 2018 found its close in Japan with a booth at the JSNM Annual Meeting on Okinawa, in China with the Shanghai Molecular Imaging International Forum, and in Europe with a booth and PMOD Service Point at the EANM’18 Annual Congress and Exhibition in Düsseldorf. The list of upcoming events is being updated on an ongoing basis.
PMOD Training Opportunities in 2019 – Launch of Advanced Application Course
Next year, we will offer again two training sessions in Zurich, in March 2019 and in the fall 2019 (September 23-26). Both sessions will start with our proven 2-day basic course and will be followed by a newly designed 2-day course on advanced PMOD topics:
PMOD Basic Application Course (March 11-12, 2019): This course aims to convey the principles of working with PMOD and to provide a hands-on overview of the most important PMOD tools.
PMOD Advanced Application Course (March 13-14, 2019): The aim of this new course is to take the participants beyond the elements learned on the basic course. The core of the course will remain a series of exercises on the computer, but the participants will be given more freedom to explore the tools while PMOD experts provide direct feedback and coaching. Examples will be drawn from both human and preclinical data to suit the broad needs of PMOD users. Participants are also encouraged to bring examples of their own data.
The list of announced PMOD training courses together with detailed descriptions can be found on the training page of our website. It will be complemented with further courses, possibly taking place outside Switzerland, in due time. Please register online for reserving your seat (first-come, first-served).
For individual practice, the following workbooks are available: PMOD Basic Workbook, Cardiac PET Workbook, PNEURO Workbook. For a quick tour of PMOD, please visit our video library where you find for each PMOD tool a 5-minute summary and short demonstration. Furthermore, the PMOD Flipbook Getting Started with PMOD: Image Loading and Viewing captures in a sequence of annotated screen dumps the typical workflows when working with PMOD. PMOD users are invited to “animate” the Flipbook, by flipping through the screen dumps and by operating in parallel their PMOD license.
Upgrading to PMOD Version 4.0
To get a feel of the 4.0 version before upgrading, please request a trial license via our website. A license file will automatically be sent to you, allowing for evaluating the full functionality (except for saving) of all PMOD tools during a 60-day trial period.
The PMOD license and upgrade policy is described on our website’s Quotes & Orders page. In case your license is covered by a PMOD Maintenance Agreement, please refer to the agreement for your privileged upgrading terms. In case you have acquired your license via one of PMOD’s reseller companies, please contact your reseller for requesting a quote.
For owners who have purchased PMOD in base version 3.9, the v4.0 upgrade is available for free. The owners are invited to download the software from the Download Page of the PMOD website, using their PMOD Customer Account. We strongly encourage you to upgrade to version 4.0 and hope it will bring you significant improvements. During the upgrade procedure, you can import the configuration of your prior PMOD installation, including your license file which will also work with v4.0. In this way, you can immediately start working within your tailored environment. Should you encounter difficulties with the installation or operation of v4.0, please send your problem report to support@pmod.com. We recommend you to keep the running version 3.9 installed, such that version 3.9 can be started alternatively to the 4.0 version. In general, we strongly suggest that the data of any study be entirely analyzed using one single PMOD version.
For owners who have purchased PMOD with a base version lower than 3.9, the v4.0 upgrade is at cost, as detailed in the PMOD Upgrade Policy. Please request your customized quote at info@pmod.com. Please note that in any case, you will be able to continue using your current installation without any restrictions in time. Finally, for a description of PMOD’s support policy, please refer to our Support page.
We are always striving for improvements in our products and training offerings, so please do not hesitate to report missing functionality or send us any other type of feedback.
With best regards on behalf of the PMOD team,
Cyrill Burger, CEO and Founding Partner
PMOD Technologies LLC
info@pmod.com
http://www.pmod.com
