PC Configuration

First, ensure that the designated ScanImage® Computer meets the following minimum specifications.

PC Requirements

CPU	64-bit processor with 4 cores, clock rate ≥ 3GHz Tip Matlab is single threaded in its base configuration, so that a high CPU clock rate is desirable. Visit cpubenchmark.net for an overview of processor single core performance. While Intel Xeon processors feature a large number of cores, the single core performance is typically low.
RAM	16 GB RAM Note Additional RAM may be valuable for future ScanImage® or user-specific requirements, e.g. online image analysis done in User Functions
PCIe slots	Graphics card: PCIe 3.0 x16 (recommended) vDAQ: PCIe 3.0 x8 (physical slot size, only x4 lanes are used for data transmission) Note Additional PCIe slots may be valuable for future ScanImage® or other user-specific requirements
Hard Drives	Windows operating system: SSD drive > 128GB Data drive: Either a RAID 0 spinning disk drive OR a solid-state drive (SSD) Either a RAID 0 magnetic drive pair or solid-state drive (SSD), whole or partition, is recommended for data logging/storage, to achieve write performance >300MB/second.
OS	Windows 10 64bit
Matlab	Version 2018a or later (64bit) Optional: Parallel computing toolbox (accelerates online motion correction)

Install Matlab

ScanImage® 2022 requires Matlab 64bit version 2018a or later. Find out if your university has a Matlab campus license.

DAQ Installation

The required DAQ software varies depending on whether the Vidrio Technologies vDAQ or National Instruments DAQs is used. Follow the section that suits your situation.

vDAQ Installation

1. Shut Down the PC switch off the power supply, unplug the power cable, wear an ESD strap, and remove the PC chassis lid.

2. Install the vDAQ in a PCIEv3 x8 slot of the motherboard, preferably with direct access to the CPU

3. Plug in a 6-pin PCIE power cable from the power supply to the vDAQ power receptacle

4. Close up the PC Chassis, reconnect power, and boot up the PC.

5. Download and install the vDAQ vDAQ device drivers.

Continue with section Install ScanImage

NI DAQ and driver Installation

The NI DAQ system is very modular, and the combination of DAQ cards varies with various microscope setups. A greater explanation of NI DAQ and device compatibility is provided later. Here, the MXIE card installation, and the NI DAQmx and NI FlexRIO software installation is covered.

MXIE card Installation

With the purchase of NI PXIe 1073 chassis comes a MXIE card which needs to be installed in the motherboard. Any questions about the PXIe 1073 chassis should be answered in its manual

1. Shut Down the PC, turn off the power supply, unplug the power cable, wear an ESD strap, and remove the PC chassis lid.

2. Install the MXIe link in a PCIe x1 slot of the motherboard

3. Close up the PC Chassis, plug in, switch PSU power to on, and boot up the PC.

NI driver Installation

The following NI driver are required to run ScanImage: - NI DAQmx driver. - NI FlexRIO driver.

Install ScanImage

Download ScanImage from the Vidrio Technologies Site. You will need to create a user account to access the download. If you need any help creating the account or accessing your license, please contact Vidrio support.

Note

Starting with ScanImage® 2020, either a basic or premium license key is required to operate ScanImage. To acquire one, send a request for quote to sales.

Startup Window

Run the ScanImage® installation media. This will install ScanImage® files in the below directory and add the path to MATLAB. This can be verified in MATLAB by executing line “which scanimage” in the Matlab command window.

>> which scanimage
   C:\Program Files\Vidrio\SI2019bR0_2020-03-16-151209_4d721e971c
>> scanimage

Run ScanImage

Open Matlab and execute the command “scanimage” in the command window to start scanimage.

This will bring up the startup window from which the license, machine data file, and user settings file can be loaded. First, the license should be activated. Continue to the License Manager page to learn more.