-COPYRIGHT
----------
-This program is written by Kevin M. Rosenberg, M.D.
+OVERVIEW
+========
+
+CTSim simulates the process of collecting tomographic X-ray data of
+phantom objects. These X-ray data through the objects are called
+projections. CTSim reconstructs the original phantom image from the
+projections using a variety of algorithms.
+
+CTSim is open-source and is covered by the GNU Public License (GPL).
+
+Please enjoy CTSim. I'd like to hear any feedback
+
+Kevin M. Rosenberg, M.D.
+kevin@rosenberg.net
-It is covered by the GNU General Public License (GPL) which
-allows copying and modifying this code with restrictions. See the
-file COPYING for complete details.
HISTORY
-------
+=======
CTSim development began in 1983 while I was in medical school. It was
-written using Lattice C and MS-DOS. I used assembly language to write
+written using Lattice C and MS-DOS. I used 8086 assembly language to
+code convolution and backprojection routes and also to write graphics
directly to an IBM EGA video adapter.
In 1999, I ported CTsim to GNU/Linux. In April 2000, the source code
for CTSim was published on the Internet.
-STATUS
-------
+In June 2000, entire code for revised and converted to C++.
-The official home for CTsim is http://www.ctsim.org. From this site,
-you can download the CTsim source code and use CTSim online using a
-beowulf cluster.
-I would be very pleased to have other developers join me in the
-development of CTSim. Please see the TODO list for the most obvious
-ideas.
+WHERE
+=====
-In this release, the main issue that needs addressing is the inclusion
-of old graphic library code. This code is not being used by
-CTSim. Compilation warnings will occur in these files. Please ignore
-these warnings. In the next major release of CTSim, there will be
-support for interactive graphics. I just need to write the low-level
-drivers to support X-window rather than IBM EGA hardware.
+The official home for CTsim is http://www.ctsim.org.
-OVERVIEW
---------
-CTSim simulates the collection of x-rays by a CT scanner. These x-rays
-of objects are called projections or raysums.
+FEATURES
+========
+
+Several standard phantom objects are built-in. Other phantoms can be
+loaded from ASCII files.
-Phantom objects are defined. Several built-in phantoms are included,
-as well as an extension to load files of phantom definitions.
+CTsim uses cross-platform compatible file formats for projection data and
+image data.
-CTsim uses .sdf (standard data files) to represent 2-dimensional image
-data. It uses a 32-bit floating-point pixel format. SDF is loosely
-based on a image file format used by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory
-(JPL). It supports multiple text labels per image.
THE PROGRAMS
-------------
+============
-phm2sdf - generates an SDF image of a phantom object
+ctsim - a graphical user interface for most functions. This programs
+has all of the functionality of the command line tools except for
+image comparison functions.
-phm2rs - Simulates the collection of CT data, or raysums, of a phantom
-object
+phm2if - generates an image file of a phantom object
-ctrec - Performs an CT reconstruction, also known as image
-reconstruction from projections. Reads a raysum file and writes a SDF
-file.
+phm2pj - Simulates the collection of CT data, or projections, of a
+phantom object
-rs2sdf - Converts raysum data to a raw sinugram image
+pjrec - Performs an CT reconstruction, also known as image
+reconstruction from projections. Reads a projection file and writes a
+SDF file.
-sdf2img - Converts an SDF file to a variety of 8-bit image formats
+pj2if - Converts projection data to a raw sinugram image
+
+if2img - Converts an image file to a variety of 8-bit and 16-bit image
+formats
+
+pjinfo - Show information on a projection file
+
+ifinfo - Show statistics and history labels of image files
-sdfinfo - Show statistics and history labels of SDF files
TYPICAL USAGE
--------------
+=============
+
+Graphical User Interface
+------------------------
+
+Use ctsim.
+
+
+Command Line Interface
+----------------------
When evaluating CT simulation, in general, these steps are followed:
Create a phantom image and viewable image file
- phm2sdf ...
- sdf2img ...
+ phm2if ...
+ if2img ...
-Simulate CT data collection and create a viewable image of raw raysums
- phm2rs ...
- rs2sdf ...
- sdf2img ...
+Simulate CT data collection and create a viewable image of raw projections
+ phm2pj ...
+ pj2if ...
+ if2img ...
Perform CT reconstruction and create viewable image file
- ctrec ...
- sdf2img ...
+ pjrec ...
+ if2img ...
-These functions are convert output image to a PNG file performed by
-the CGI program ctsim.cgi which can be installed as described in
-INSTALL file.
+Display image information and comparative statistics
+ ifinfo ...
-There is a sample shell script installed called 'sample-ctrec'.
+There is a sample shell script installed called 'sample-ctsim.sh'
+in the tools direction that performs the above commands.
+These functions can be invoked via a web interface with a CGI program
+as described in the INSTALL file.
-CLOSING
--------
-Please enjoy CTSim. I'd like to hear any feedback
+COPYRIGHT
+=========
+This program is written by Kevin M. Rosenberg, M.D.
-Kevin M. Rosenberg, M.D.
-kevin@rosenberg.net
+It is covered by the GNU General Public License (GPL) which
+allows copying and modifying this code with restrictions. See the
+file COPYING for complete details.