Create
Description
Regions are geometrical figures that you can draw on a thermal image to enclose one or more pixels. Up to ten regions can be drawn on an image. Region tools and controls are located in the Region panel (see Figure 1) below the Main Image.
Region statistics are displayed in the Region Data Grid. Using the Region Settings window, maximum and minimum temperature setpoints can be assigned to each region in order to test temperature statistics of pixels enclosed by the region.
Figure 1: Region panel
Draw a Region
To draw a Region, first click one of the region shape buttons on the Region toolbar then follow the instruction in the Region Tools section below to draw a specific Region shape. New regions are added below existing Regions in the Region Data Grid.
Processing Rate
Calculating and displaying region statistics requires significant computer resources and image capture rate may decrease when processing and displaying the statistics of many Regions. One solution is to perform post-analysis using Regions on an image sequence. First, record an image sequence of the thermal event with a minimal number of Regions drawn. Then, when replaying the sequence, you can then create as many Regions as needed to analyze the pixel statistics.
Slow Capturing: Processing region statistics requires considerable processing resources. If image capture rate falls when displaying image in large size, follow the suggestions in the Introduction to increase processing rate.
Select a Region
The temperature statistics of the pixels enclosed by each Region are displayed in a row of the Region Data Grid. To select a region, click on the corresponding row in the grid or click on the Region in the thermal image. When selected, the row is highlighted in blue, and the Region color becomes cyan.
Select Region: If a Region shape button is pressed, a Region cannot be selected by clicking on the thermal image. To unpress the Region shape button, press the Select button 
or Cursor Temperature button 
.
Region Toolbars
 Invert Region Color |
The default color of an unselected Region is white. If the Region is difficult to distinguish from lite background colors, press this button to set the unselected Region color to black. |
 Region Settings |
Click this button to display the Region Settings window. |
 Region Information |
Click this button to display the Region Information window. |
 Scale Legend |
Press this button to display a scale legend in the top left corner of the Main Image. The size of the legend is determined by the Scale Legend Width setting in the Measure window. |
 Show Center |
Press this button to display a large cross hair in the center of the lock-in image. |
 Measure Distance |
Press this button to display the Measure Distance window. |
 Display Statistics on Region |
Press this button to display the maximum, minimum, and mean temperatures for each Region on the thermal image next to the Region's number and name. Important: This feature requires significant computer resources and should be turned off when not needed. If image capture rate falls, follow the suggestions in the Introduction to increase processing rate. |
 Locate Region Max |
Press this button to locate the pixel with the highest value within each Region. The pixel is marked with crosshairs. Important: This feature requires significant computer resources and should be turned off when not needed. If image capture rate falls, follow the suggestions on the opening page of this HTML help guide to increase processing rate. |
 Open Regions |
Click this button to display the Open Regions dialog. |
 Save Regions |
Click this button to display the Save Regions dialog. |
| Select |
Select this button to position, resize, and rotate Regions. |
| Cursor Temperature |
Select this button and hover over the image to display the pixel temperature and xy coordinates at the mouse location. |
 Point |
Select this button and then click on the image to create a Point Region. |
 Line |
Select this button and then click and drag on the image to create a Line Region. |
 Rectangle |
Select this button and then click and drag on the image to create a Rectangle Region. |
 Full Screen Rectangle |
Click this button to create a Rectange Region with the same dimensions as the image. |
 Ellipse |
Select this button and then click and drag on the image to create an Ellipse Region. |
 Polyline |
Select this button and then click on the image to locate the first vertex of the Polyline Region. Click to locate each vertex and then right-click on the last vertex to complete the polyline. |
 Polygon |
Select this button and then click on the image to locate the first vertex of the Polygon Region. Click to locate each vertex and then right-click on the last vertex to complete the polygon. |
| Invert Region Color |
The default color of an unselected Region is white. If Regions are difficult to distinguish from lite background colors, press this button to set the unselected Region color to black. |
 Delete Region |
Click this button to delete the currently selected Region. Tip: After a Region has been selected in the grid, it can also be deleted by pressing the Delete key on the keyboard. |
 Delete All Regions |
Click this button to delete all Regions. |
 Move Region Left |
Click this button to move the currently selected Region left one pixel. |
 Move Region Right |
Click this button to move the currently selected Region right one pixel. |
 Move Region Up |
Click this button to move the currently selected Region up one pixel. |
 Move Region Down |
Click this button to move the currently selected Region down by one pixel. |
 Cut Region |
Click this button to copy the currently selected Region to the clipboard and then delete the Region. |
 Copy Region |
Click this button to copy the currently selected Region to the clipboard. |
 Paste Region |
Click this button to paste the Region that has most recently been cut or copied to the image. The pasted Region is place at the same position as the originally copied or cut Region but shifted 5 pixels left and down. You can then reposition the pasted Region. |
 Shift Region Up |
Click this button to shift the currently selected Region up one row in the Region Data Grid. |
 Shift Region Down |
Click this button to shift the currently selected Region down one row in the Region Data Grid. |
Position, Resize, and Rotate Regions
All Regions can be repositioned. All Regions except Point and Line Regions can be resized and rotated.
Position
To position a Region, hover over the Region until the cursor changes into a four-sided arrow and then drag to reposition. To position end points or vertices, first select the Region and then make sure the Select button or Cursor Temperature button is selected. Hover over the end point or vertex until the cursor changes into a four-sided arrow and then click and drag to reposition. For precise positioning, select a Region and then click the buttons , , , and .
Resize
To resize a Region, first select the Region and then make sure the Select button or Cursor Temperature button is selected. Hover over the Region handles until the cursor changes into a two-sided arrow and then click and drag to resize.
Rotate
To rotate a Region, first select the Region and then make sure the Select button or Cursor Temperature button is selected. Hover over the rotation handle to the right of the Region until the cursor changes into a rotation symbol and then click and drag to rotate.
Data Grid
Description
The Region Data Grid (see Figure 2) is located in the Region panel below the Main Image and displays statistical temperature information about the pixels enclosed by each Region. Click on a row in the grid to select a Region. When a Region is selected, its row is highlighted in blue and the Region shape color is changed to cyan. Double-click on a row to select a Region and open the Region Settings window.
For each Region, the Statistic to Test is highlighted in green (pass) when the statistic lies within the Region's High and Low Limits. The statistic is highlighted in red (fail) if the statistic lies outside the limits. The outline of each Region shape is also changed to these colors.
Figure 2: Region Data Grid
Region Data Grid Columns
| # |
This field displays a unique index for each Region. Regions are numbered consecutively from 1 to 10. |
| Name |
This field displays a name entered in the Region Settings window by the user to identify each Region. |
| Hi Lim |
The High Limit value is entered in the Region Settings window. Because there is a High Limit value for both Temperature Limits and Image Subtraction Limits, the value displayed depends on whether or not Image Subtraction is activated. |
| Low Lim |
The Low Limit value is entered in the Region Settings window. Because there is a Low Limit value for both Temperature Limts and Image Subtraction Limits, the value displayed depends on whether or not Image Subtraction is activated. |
| Emiss |
This field displays the Emissivity value entered in the Region Settings window for each Region. |
| Area |
This field displays the area of each Region measured in number of pixels. |
| Max | This field displays the maximum pixel temperature value enclosed by each Region. |
| Min | This field displays the minimum pixel temperature value enclosed by each Region. |
| Mean | This field displays the mean value of all pixel temperatures enclosed by each Region. |
Settings
Description
The Region Settings window (see Figure 3) allow you to uniquely identify each Region with a name, enter an emissivity for the pixels enclosed by the Region, and create a statistical test for the enclosed pixels.
To open the Region Settings window, click the Region Settings item under the Regions menu, press the button on the Region toolbar, or double-click a row in the Region Data Grid. When a Region is selected, its settings are displayed in the Region Settings window and can be modified. If no Region is selected, default settings are displayed and can be modified. New Regions are created with default settings.
Figure 3: Region Settings window
Region Settings
| Region Selected |
This field displays the index of the Region that is currently selected in the Region Data Grid. If no Region is selected, "Default" is displayed indicating that the default settings are displayed. |
| Name |
Enter a name to uniquely identify each Region. |
| Emissivity |
Set this parameter below 1.00 when measuring surfaces with low emissivity to compensate for their reduced infrared emission (or reduced tranmission if used to compensate for the transparency of an infrared window). Values range from 0.01 to 1.00. Caution: The effect of overlapping Regions with emissivity values less than 1.00 is cumulative. This software feature gives you the ability to compensate for reduced transmission using one Region and then overlap a second Region to compensate for an object’s emissivity. Important: Processing Region emissivity requires significant computer resources. If image capture rate falls, follow the suggestions in the Introduction to increase processing rate. |
| Region Test Statistic |
Select the statistic (None, Max, Min, Mean, or Max & Min) to test against the High and Low Limits. If the value of the Test statistic selected is between these limits, the Region test will pass. If the statistic lies outside the limits, the test will fail. If Max & Min is selected, the test will pass if the value of the Max statistic is less than or equal to the High Limit and the value of the Min statistic is greater than or equal to the Low Limit. |
| Temperature Limits (High and Low) |
The values in these fields are used to test a Region's statistic when Image Subtraction is not activated. |
| Image Subtraction Limits (High and Low) |
The values in these fields are used to test a Region's statistic when Image Subtraction is activated. |
| Assign to All Regions |
Click this button to assign the current settings displayed to all existing Regions. |
Open and Save
Description
Region files are saved in binary format with a ".orgn" extension. To open the Open or Save Regions dialog box, select the item from the Regions menu or press the or buttons on the Regions toolbar.
Region File Data
Region files include the geometrical data required to reproduce each Region shape as well as all of the parameters displayed in the Region Settings window for each Region.
Open Regions
| Open Regions |
Select the binary Regions file (.orgn) to open. |
Save Regions
|
Save Regions |
When saving a Regions file, the file name that you provide is appended with ".orgn" and saved in the "Optotherm\Thermalyze\Regions" folder unless you specify a different folder. |
Startup Region
When Thermalyze is started, the program searches the "Optotherm\Thermalyze\Regions" folder for the file "Startup.orgn". If this file is located, it is opened and its Regions are displayed. Create your own custom set of startup Regions and save over this file so that they open upon program startup.
Associated Regions
When an image or image sequence is saved, existing Regions are automatically saved in the same file. When an image or sequence file is opened, any associated Regions saved in the file are read and displayed.
Region Information
Description
The Region Information window (see Figure 4) displays details about the currently selected Region. To open the Region Information window, click the Region Information item under the Regions menu or press the button on the Region toolbar.
Figure 4: Region Information window
Region Information Fields
| Type |
This field displays the Region shape. |
| Position |
This drop-down box displays the Region position in pixel coordinates. The position of a Line Region is comprised of the position of each end point. The position of a Rectangle or Ellipse Region is comprised of the center location. The position of a Polyline or Polygon Region is comprised of the positions of each vertex. |
| Line Length |
This field displays the length of a Line Region. |
| Rect Width |
This field displays the width of a Rectangle Region. |
| Rect Height |
This field displays the height of a Rectangle Region. |
| Angle |
This field displays the rotation angle of a Rectangle or Ellipse Region. |
| Radius X |
This field displays the radius of an Ellipse Region in the x direction. |
| Radius Y |
This field displays the radius of an Ellipse Region in the y direction. |
| Std Dev |
This field displays the standard deviation of all Regions except a Point Region. |
Region Measure
Description
The Measure window (see Figure 5) displays distance measurements between a Point Region and the cursor position. To open the Measure window, click the Measure item under the Regions menu or press the button on the Region toolbar.
A Point Region must first be drawn on the image. The "Live" column displays the current distance between the Point Region and the cursor position. The "Click" column displays the distance values when the image was most recently clicked.
Point Region: When measuring distances on the Main Image, the Point Region must be the first Region and the Select button may need to be pressed after creating regions in order to display new distance values in the "Click" column.
Figure 5: Measure window
Region Measure Fields
| Pixel Size |
Enter the pixel resolution of the currently installed lens in units of microns. Pixel is the width of each square area on the target that is imaged onto a single detector pixel. When a fixed focus lens is installed and the Measure window is opened, Pixel Size is set equal to the pixel resolution of the installed lens. Values range from 0.001 to 10000. Fixed focus lenses have a set pixel resolution that is listed in the lens specifications. When using a focusable lens, the pixel size will vary and will depend on the angular field-of-view of the lens and the distance from the lens to the target (see instructions below). |
| Reference Point |
This field displays the status of the reference Point Region. |
| Distance |
This field displays the distance between the reference Point Region and the cursor position. The units are the same as Pixel Size. |
| Distance X |
This field displays the horizontal (x axis) distance between the reference Point Region and the cursor position. |
| Distance Y |
This field displays the vertical (y axis) distance between the reference Point Region and the cursor position. |
Calculate Pixel Size for a Focusable Lens
-
Position the camera to view the target and then focus the lens.
-
Place a metal ruler or other object of known length in front of the camera so that it nearly fills the camera’s horizontal field-of-view.
-
Draw a horizontal Line Region the same length as the ruler and note the value in the Area column of the Region Data Grid. This value is the length of the Line Region in pixels.
-
Calculate Pixel Size by dividing the length of the ruler by the Area value.
Figure 6: Measure Settings window
Measure Settings Window
| Show Region Dimensions |
Check this box to display the height and width of rotated rectangles in the same units as Pixel Size. |
| Scale Legend Width |
Enter the width (in number of Pixel Size increments) to display the scale legend on the Main Image. |
| Hot Spot Search Radius |
Enter the pixel radius in which to search for the hottest pixel when using the Hot Spot Locator tool in the Lock-in Thermography window. |