OsiriX Free vs Paid

OsiriX and Horos Course · Introduction and Basics

In this lesson I show, in practice, the difference between the free OsiriX and the paid OsiriX, focusing on what causes the most confusion day to day: the limitation of 32-bit OsiriX for opening studies with many images (large datasets) and how that changes in the 64-bit version. 1) How to identify the free OsiriX (Free) In the free OsiriX: an OsiriX MD advertisement appears (at the bottom). when opening About, I see that it is a 32-bit version. when entering a study, a warning appears suggesting it is not for medical use. The main problem with Free shows up when you try to open a very large study (e.g., thousands of slices). 2) The big difference: opening studies with many images In the video example, when trying to open a large study (e.g., ~2,800 images), the free OsiriX warns that the 32-bit version cannot open the full dataset. What OsiriX Free lets you do as a "workaround": Option A) Open in parts (two images from the same dataset) It suggests opening the study "separately" to get around the limitation — but you do not get the complete dataset all at once. Option B) Limit the range of slices that will be opened To get to the limitation window: press Option and click 2D Viewer Then you can: choose the highest and lowest axial slice (open only a segment) reduce until you reach a number that Free can open (in the video, at ~1,400 slices a warning already appears) Option C) Increase the "interval" interval 2 = opens every other image this lets you open the whole study, but skipping slices (lower navigation resolution) These are ways to "get past" the 32-bit limitation without stalling your workflow. 3) Paid OsiriX (64-bit): what changes In the paid version: in About, 64-bit appears when opening the study, the warning that appears is that the version has not been certified for medical decision-making (you click I Agree) the main gain is that it can open large datasets in full, without needing to reduce the number of images In the video, I show a computer with 16 GB of RAM managing to open the entire study. Important note from the video: if the computer has little RAM, the advantage of 64-bit may be smaller — because opening large datasets also depends on available memory. 4) Even on 64-bit, you can still limit to gain performance Even in the paid version, you can still: press Option and click 2D Viewer limit the slice range so OsiriX works faster But, unlike Free, it is not required in order to open the study.