In order to record a scan, we can switch to the Recording tab next to the Correction tab:


The Recording tab allows us to specify the directory where our scans will be saved and the scan name.


Once the scan name is defined, we can record our first scan. In our example, we have the C button set to the Scan and record command. Therefore, we may press this button in the Stage panel or press the physical C button on the stage to start recording a scan:



TIP: If you use the Scan and record command and nothing happens, double check that you have filled in a scan name in Recording panel. If the name field is empty, then the scan cannot be recorded.


If you press the Record button in the Recording panel, then only acquisition and recording into a file will start, not the stage movement. This is useful when recording data without a controllable stage, for example on an industrial conveyor belt. In order to simultaneously move the stage and record, the Scan and record command is needed.


It is a good practice to scan multiple images for the sake of testing any developed models on data unseen in training. In order to help with naming multiple scans, perClass Mira provides three options:


  1. If the scan name contains a trailing digit, then the name turns into green. Using the cursor keys or mouse wheel, we may increment or decrement this trailing index. Words separated by underscores form different groups, these can also have a trailing digit. This naming scheme can be used to add metadata on scanning conditions (day, variety, supplier, etc.)


TIP: The current index can be also increased by the stage button assigned to the Increment scan name command. In this way the scanning process can be fully controlled by stage without use of keyboard or mouse.


  1. By checking the Add index checkbox, with this an underscore followed by the Index will be added to each scan name. The starting index can be changed in the adjacent spinbox, it will automatically increment after each scan.


  1. By checking the Add timestamp checkbox, this will append the current time stamp (at start of acquisition) to the file name (note that timestamps are also stored in header files, so adding it in the filename is not necessary in all use-cases).



After the scan is recorded, it will be loaded and added to the Images list, the software also switches to the Images mode.



perClass Mira interface is optimized for efficient acquisition of a large number of scans. All you need to do is to place new physical sample on the scanning table, increment the scan index using the B button, and acquire another scan by pressing the C button.


We're now ready to interpret our first scan.