Objective
The ability to consistently capture radiographs in various virtual environments – including Citrix XenDesktop and XenApp, VMWARE ESXi, VMWARE Fusion, Apple Parallels, and Microsoft Remote.
Use of virtual environments continues to grow in dental institutions and enterprises. These environments move device driver execution from the operatory to the computing center. But the USB plugs of digital intraoral sensors remain in the operatory, and USB Virtualization is not suited to the demanding communications protocols used by these sensors. Failure rates acceptable in most applications are simply not acceptable when patients are being exposed to ionizing radiation. Organizations need a solution that will meet both technical and clinical standards.
Design
Identifying a need, XDR set forth to create a new and unique way to ensure a reliable capture that can work within a variety of virtual and remote settings. Thus, XDR VirtuCap was born.
XDR VirtuCap is a collection of technologies designed to bypass USB Virtualization, instead relying on a stable and resilient asynchronous protocol for completing sensor capture in virtual environments. Two main components to VirtuCap are the XDR Registrar and the XDR Adapter.
XDR Capture Module
The Capture Module is a service that runs in the background of a user’s Windows-based PC, or in a mini-PC dedicated for radiography capture (having no monitor, keyboard or mouse). Intraoral sensors are plugged into the PC, and the Capture Module manages both the sensor in the operatory, and communication with imaging software running in the computing center.
XDR Registrar
The Registrar is a compact service that runs on a server in the computing center. It manages the connections between Adapters in operatories and imaging software in the computing center, and it provides administrative functions to IT personnel.
Results
By replacing USB Virtualization with an asynchronous protocol for connecting virtual sessions with physical sensors, XDR has practically eliminated the problems of using digital dental sensors in virtual environments, sometimes with startling success.
In repeated testing sessions with the VirtuCap components, Texas-based XDR Engineers simulated operatory processes with x-ray generators and XDR Anatomic Sensors, successfully capturing several full mouth series (18 radiographs each), operating radiography software executing in California 1,200 miles away. The connection was just a VPN across a residential broadband connection.
Studies also found VirtuCap to be an exceptional performer in cases of network lag, up to and including full network drops. Tests show that even in cases of extreme lag, including network drops several minutes long, an XDR VirtuCap session will automatically reestablish its connection to deliver a captured image that was interrupted mid-capture.
Conclusion
XDR has created a reliable way to acquire radiographs in a virtual environment, dramatically lowering the risk of radiating a patient without successfully capturing a digital radiograph.
The XDR VirtuCap Technology has been incorporated into the XDR Digital Radiography Software (v. 3.2.12) and the MIPACS Dental Viewer (v.3.1.1404 with MiPACS XDR Plugin).
The XDR VirtuCap Technology can be used in any imaging software that has incorporated the XDR Sensor SDK. If you are a software developer and you are interested in incorporating XDR Sensors and components into your platform, please contact us at service@xdrradiology.com to begin the process.