Microscope Software Performs Image Capture, Analysis, Data Management

Olympus Stream microscope software version 1.6 offers a wide variety of robust features for users in industrial laboratory environments. Stream software uses an intuitive graphical user interface (GUI) to guide users from simple image capture to multi-faceted material science applications with greater ease.

Expansion of the Stream library offers three new application-specific solutions that handle layer thickness, non-metallic inclusions, and cast iron analysis. Input and analysis are virtually effortless, thanks to Stream's intuitive process manager. A redesigned tool window swiftly and reliably guides users through the analysis process.

AutoCal, which eliminates tedious microscope calibrations, now includes Z-axis data, especially useful for acquiring 3D images with stereomicroscopes. Other software improvements streamline complex tasks, such as combining extended focus and panoramic images into fully detailed, high-resolution macro images. The custom processing and analysis engine (CPAE) ensures precise communication between individually detected objects and regions of interest for improved accuracy and flexibility. Motorized stage positions (X, Y, and Z) now are stored with image property data, making image acquisition easier.

New flexibility for generating reports includes the ability to choose the location of the scale bar and information stamp, insert statistics into a table, define image resolution according to various format/audience requirements, and create workbook placeholders for easily accessing statistics within a Microsoft Word report.

Further refinements in the motion/enterprise database area of the software for storing, retrieving, and managing information now include the support of active directory user groups such as Oracle, with extended text search on database fields and automatic saving of record changes.

Supporting Windows 7 64-bit computers and Microsoft Office 2010 for reporting and data processing, Stream addresses users' needs at every level, starting with basic image acquisition requirements and moving to secure top-level client-server image/data workflow management (through the Enterprise version). Interfacing with the latest Microsoft SQL Server 2008 and Oracle 11g databases, the software can network entire organizations internally or externally via the Internet. Stream continues to address diverse application requirements through its five-level software structure, a wide range of application-specific modules, multiple-license pricing, and on-site or WebEx training.