Measure Menu

The Measure Menu provides access to the measurement functions of DigiSize. Here, one can open the form that contains all of the preset measurements, enable batch measurement to process a number of scans automatically, obtain statistics regarding measurements over a period of time, view the distribution of measurements, and a form to manually enter measurements.

Form...

The measurement form displays all of the available measurements and methods, as well as controls to execute the automatic extraction of all or part of these measurements on the current scan file. As each measurement is calculated, the measurement will be added to the form, in English or metric values, along with the total time it took to compute that measurement.

NOTE:
The measurement results generated from the Measure Form are not automatically saved to the project database. The USP checkbox at the bottom tells the software to use saved project database points if they are available. Otherwise the manual pick points window will appear to handle the processing.

Measurement Listing

The measurement listing displays the names of all of the measurements that are available. Also displayed are the type/method of gathering the measurement (Geometry, Landmark, Manual, Predict and Special), the measurement value and the time required to process each measurement. The Measure and Time entries are available for viewing only after a measurement is extracted.

Measurement Types

This section of the window determines the types/methods of measurements that will be displayed in the Measure Form. Each method represents a unique class of measurements, from DigiSize-generated to hand-measured.

Method	Definition
Geometry	Geometry points are the standard automatic points generated by DigiSize.
Landmark	This selection will look for landmarks that were placed on the subject at the time of scanning. DigiSize searches for these landmarks and bases the measurement points on the landmarks, rather than looking for features in the scan data. The landmark detection is currently available only in the developer version of the software.
Manual	Manual measurements require operator interaction to precisely pick a given point/measurement.
Predict	Predict points are those that are located automatically, but are based on formulas rather than software-detected features or landmarks. Many anthropological points are based on locating a specific bone by touch, but the bone is not visible. Therefore, the location must be estimated, and the point is created by prediction.
Special	This section is reserved for use in unique projects or custom extraction routines.

Measurement Types

Measurement Selection Buttons

The Select All button will select all of the listed measurements while the Select None button will deselect all measurements. The Clear button will remove the values from Measure and Time.

Measurement Definition

This button opens a window that displays all available definitions for the chosen measurement. This definition may contain information such as the technical description of the points used in the measurement and a graphical representation of the measurement. This information is very helpful to new users and to guarantee that all users choose points and measurements in an accurate and repeatable manner.

To access the description for a point/measurement, simply click one time on a measurement in the list. Next, press the Definition... button. The description window will now open for the user to review. When finished with the definition window, simply click the Windows' Close button.

Display Manager

The Display Manager allows the user to modify the default drawing method and orientation that is used when a measurement is extracted. If a user creates a custom measurement, this panel is helpful in order to correctly position and render the scan in the DigiSize viewing window.

Processing Buttons

These buttons relate to the processing of measurements.

Calculate Measurements

The Calculate Measurements button, when pressed, will extract all of the measurements that are selected in the measurement listing. The user must have an active scan in the DigiSize viewing window prior to executing this procedure.

Stop

The Stop button cancels all measurement extraction. Further processing of the data will continue after the user presses the Calculate Measurements button.

USP

This button (Use Saved Points) will allow DigiSize to use all of the previously saved points. These points were created and saved during a manual point picking procedure.

SAM

When a user presses this button, all of the measurements will be recorded in the project database. As mentioned earlier in this section, results generated from the Measure Form are not automatically saved to the project database. This button (Save All Measurements) will force these measurements to be saved.

DAM

The DAM (Delete All Measurements) button removes all measurement information from the Measure Form. There is no undo for this action, all of the measurement data will be destroyed.

DSM

If previously-saved measurements appear in this window, they may be deleted by using the DSM button. These measurements will be removed from the project database permanently.

Batch...

The batch function will automatically process all measurements for an entire set of selected scans and save those measurements into the project database. To use this function, the user must select from a list of all the scan subjects in the database that have been classified as good. Then the user may specify any number of measurements to be extracted and by what methods. These measurements are stored in the database where they can be displayed at a later time using the Measurement Statistics function or the Database View function. This menu item is available only when the user has set a current project.

 

Statistics...

Select this menu item to get a comparison between measurements in a set of scans and to generate a statistical report. The comparison is usually between the same two measurements, but using different methods, such as Geometry and Manual (See the Measurement Types for more information). A typical use would be to compare each subject's height measurement in DigiSize to a traditional, manual height measurement.

A bar graph of the results is displayed in 1-inch increments. The desired outcome is to have the highest percentage of correct comparisons centered around zero. A bell curve is displayed if enough data is available and if the measurements are true. The software also provides the ability to shift the data to near zero and determine how far off the statistical comparison is.

NOTE:
The statistics file must be rebuilt after running Measure Batch or Measurement Manual Entry before the new data will be available for measurement statistics.

Statistics Example

To extract the statistics, follow this procedure:

1. Set the filter preferences at the top of the window to include all of the scans that you wish to compare.

Measure Statistics - Filter

2. In the Measure 1 drop downs, choose a measurement then choose a measurement type.

Measure Statistics - Measure 1

3. Choose a measurement in the Measure 2 drop down menu. Typically, a user will select the same measurement value for both Measure 1 and Measure 2. Then, choose a measurement type. The Measurement type will usually be different for Measure 1 and Measure 2.

Measure Statistics - Measure 2

4. Press the Calculate Statistics button. The results will be presented in the window as soon as the calculations are complete.

Measure Statistics - Calculate Statistics

Distribution

The distribution table displays values for minimum and maximum, average, and a standard deviation, which are acquired from the statistics file. Also listed are ranges of measurements and how many of the processed scans fit within those ranges.

NOTE:
The statistics file must be rebuilt after running measurement batch or Measurement Manual Entry before the new data will be available for distribution analysis.

A histogram provides a graphic display of the distribution of the selected measurement for a quick overview. The number of "buckets" can be specified (maximum of 10) to provide flexibility in viewing the results. For each bucket in the histogram, there is a pop-up menu which lists all the scans that fell into that bucket. Selecting an entry from the pop-up menu opens that subject's scan file, making it easy to inspect the scan data for certain results.

Distribution Example

To display the distribution levels, follow this procedure:

1. Set the filter preferences at the top of the window to include all of the scans that you wish to compare.

Measure Distribution - Filter

2. Choose a measurement in the Measure drop down menu.

Measure Distribution - Measure

3. Press the Calculate button. The results will be presented in the window as soon as the calculations are complete.

Measure Distribution - Calculate

Manual Entry...

This menu selection allows a user to enter tailor measurements into the database in order to be able to include them in the Measurement Statistics and Distribution analysis. Subject scans must be classified as good in order to be available for manual measurement entry.

Manual Entry Example

To use this panel, follow this procedure:

1. Choose a scan from the listing on the left side of the window. For this example, choose DBN 131.

Manual Entry - Choose a Scan

2. Enter all tailor (manual) measurements in the boxes provided in the right side of the panel.

Manual Entry - Data Entry

3. Press the Update button to save the manual measurements into the project database.

Manual Entry - Update

Import...

Select this menu item if you would like to import a set of manual measurements into a project database. The software expects to receive a tab delimited ASCII text file as the input. Each row of the text file must contain a reference database number (DBN) matching a DBN in the project database. This allows the software to associate the measurements with a particular scan subject.

DigiSize users that have hand measurement data stored in an Excel or similar spreadsheet file, can save this data as a tab delimited text file then import that data into DigiSize. The user would then be able to use Measure Statistics to compare the manual measurements to the automated DigiSize measurements.

Import Example

To import measurements, follow this procedure:

1. Next to "Input File", press the Browse... button. This will open a navigation window.

Measurement Import - Browse

2. Navigate to the folder that contains the file to be imported.
3. Double-click the tab delimited ASCII text file that you would like to import.
4. Press the Import button. The measurements will now be saved into the project database.

Measurement Import - Import

Export...

This selection allows the user to export the measurement data from the project database, sorted by Subject or by Measurement, to a tab delimited ASCII text file. This type of file may be viewed in any text editor or in a spreadsheet. A user can select which measurements to export, including traditional (manual) measurements and imported measurements.

Export Example

To use the Measurement Export panel, follow this procedure:

1. Set the filter preferences to show the files that you are interested in exporting.
2. On the left-hand side of the window, choose a scan or set of scans from the listing. This can be accomplished using the mouse or by using the Select All button.

Measurement Export - Select a File

3. On the right-hand side of the window, select a measurement or a set of measurements to be exported. By default, all of the measurements are selected (on) and ready for export.

Measurement Export - Select Measurements

4. Press the appropriate export button.

Measurement Export - Export

1. Export (by subject)
   Press this button to export all of the measurements in the project database based upon the subject.
2. Export (by measurement)
   Press this button to export all of the measurements in the project database sorted by the measurement name.