-------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------- Sim4Life V9.0 Release Notes (Desktop) -------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------- Release Date: 26.06.2025 Sim4Life V9.0 now includes new and upgraded tools for artificial intelligence (AI-) driven image-based segmentation, and the ability to launch simulations from the desktop and manage them in the cloud. Key features include: - Cloud-Powered: Users can submit to the cloud and manage simulations directly from either the Sim4Life desktop or web interface. - Advanced Anatomical Modeling and AI-Powered Tools: New and upgraded AI segmentation tools and solutions for head- and torso-related modeling. - IMAnalyticsSuite V1.8: Powerful new tools designed to support the latest developments in implant safety assessment. This document summarizes the features, modules, enhancements, known bugs, and other important issues to be aware of in this release. Please refer to https://sim4life.swiss/release-history for additional functionalities of Sim4Life V9.0 web version. -------------------------------------------------------------------- TABLE OF CONTENTS -------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Installation Requirements 2. Supported OS 3. New Features & Enhancements 3.1. Modeling 3.2. Simulation 3.3. Analysis 3.4. ViP & ViZoo 3.5. IMAnalytics 4. List of Main Bugs (Selection) Fixed Since Last Release 5. Known Issues -------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Installation Requirements -------------------------------------------------------------------- - Administrator rights are required during the installation process. - NVIDIA graphics card, with support for OpenGL versions higher than v3.3. -------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Supported OS -------------------------------------------------------------------- - Windows 11 (64 bit, x64) - Windows 10 (64 bit, x64 - EOL) Acceleware libraries: - Deprecated library 11.1.13 Erbil: Uses CUDA 11.1 Supports: Kepler (K20) to Ampere (40 and RTX) architectures CUDA computing capability: sm_35 up to sm_86 - Current library 11.4.1 Funafuti: Uses CUDA 12.2 Supports: Maxwell 5.2 and 5.3 up to Ada Lovelace L40, RTX Ada Lovelace and Hopper H100 (No longer supports Kepler) CUDA computing capability: sm_50 up to sm_90 CUDA library: - Uses CUDA 12.8 Supports: Kepler (K20) to Ada Lovelace/Hopper CUDA compute capability: sm_35 up to sm_9 Please note that only NVIDIA GPUs with CUDA Compute Capability 2.0 or higher are supported by the Sim4Life AXE solver. The Sim4Life CUDA solver support starts from CUDA 5.0. For the CUDA-based solvers (CUDA P-EM-FDTD, P-THERMAL, P-ACOUSTICS), Sim4Life supports NVIDIA GPU models equipped with CUDA compute capability 5.0 (6.0 for P-THERMAL)up to 12.0, and requires device drivers that support the CUDA toolkit 11.0 and above. Note that NVIDIA may choose to discontinue certain drivers for specific operating systems, e.g., CUDA 12.2 drivers may not be available for Windows 10 for certain GPU series. In such a case, an update to Windows 11 may permit further usage of the GPU with Sim4Life. IMPORTANT: Please note that this version of Sim4Life is the last one that will support Maxwell architecture. NVIDIA has announced that in the next major release of the CUDA Toolkit, expected to be CUDA 13.0, support for Maxwell architectures (compute capability 5.x) will be discontinued for high-performance computing development. -------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. New Features & Enhancements -------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.1. Modeling - New and enhanced AI-powered tools for image-based modeling, including features for head-related modeling, such as automatic electrode placement according to the 10-10 system and AI-driven registration of head atlases to the brain. - Automated trunk segmentation and model creation from MRI/computed tomography (CT) images. - Model history: A complete record of modeling operations is kept to allow users to easily navigate back and forth without having to repeatedly press Undo or Redo. - Support for the "Aberra" neuron model collection has been added, which consists of 25 highly detailed and biophysically realistic computational models of human pyramidal neurons from different cortical layers. They can be downloaded via https://itis.swiss/research/cls/neuron/ and imported into Sim4Life. 3.2. Simulation - Users can now submit to the cloud and manage simulations directly through either the Sim4Life desktop or web interface. This allows them to leverage scalable central processing unit (CPU) and graphics processing unit (GPU) resources on demand, accessing a nearly limitless pool of high-performance computing infrastructure. The platform features transparent job tracking, real-time cost monitoring, and one-click publishing, enabling users to effortlessly manage large-scale projects. - The thermal simulator user interface now permits the use of negative heat generation rates. - The expanded tissue properties database now includes updated data on thermal and water content. - The MPI parallelization option is now available for simulations that use magnetic field data measured with the DASY8 Module WPT and/or a MAGPy probe as source. 3.3. Analysis - The "Field Scaling" post-processing tool has been deprecated and replaced with a new tool called "Multiplier". For real field quantities, the "Multiplier" takes a factor as input and multiplies the field by this factor. For complex field quantities, the "Multiplier" uses both a factor and a phase when performing the multiplication. 3.4. ViP & ViZoo - Enhanced posing capabilities for ViP models now allow users to also pose the back and neck. This feature will be successively enabled for different models, starting now with Duke, Ella, Billie, and Fats. 3.5. IMAnalytics - The B1 field analysis is enhanced with flexible slicing and visualization capabilities, including maximum intensity projections (MIPs) and customizable B1+ and B1- field views on arbitrary planes. - New functions allow users to compute homogeneity metrics such as the coefficient of variation based on masked regions and to assess average B1+ or B1- within defined slabs around the isocenter. - Thus, users can now restrict power deposition analyses to exposure scenarios that meet specific B1+ homogeneity thresholds, streamlining compliance with evolving safety guidelines and reducing overestimation. -------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. List of Main Bugs (Selection) Fixed Since V8.2.2 Release -------------------------------------------------------------------- - Case 170085: Fixed an issue that caused a 2D plot to appear empty after extracting a slice. - Case 191119: Fixed an issue in the Sweeper that resulted in the generation of duplicate parameter combinations and the omission of some parameter combinations. - Case 195278: Resolved the issue of generating shadow entities when importing models using Python. - Case 195905: Fixed the issue with Unstructured Mesh Faceting where domain colors are initially shown when created, but revert to a single color after adjusting the visibility settings. - Case 212438: Resolved the issue of displaying truncated decimal values in the UI for target current when normalizing EQS simulation. - Case 212726: Fixed the issue of parameters not updating after pasting new parameters into a cloned crop filter. - Case 213969: Fixed an issue in the Maximum Exposure Optimization (MEO) algorithm that prevented it from running when the "Reconstruct Individual Fields" option was selected. - Case 215368: The "ShowScreenCapture" function in the Python API is now working correctly. - Case 218835: Update in the Routing Tool to ignore irrelevant empty meshes in the model. - Case 218878: Resolved the issue in the Slice Viewer regarding the Arbitrary Plane after applying the Mask Filter, which was not automatically updating user changes in plane orientations. - Case 219813: Fixed an issue in Connectivity Check that displayed connectivity only in the subgridded region. - Case 220210: Fix in the creation of new material settings in the Thermal Solver to ensure no warning messages appear in the console when no materials are added to the simulation. - Case 208152: Fixed regression in the WSS evaluator for flow simulations that resulted in numerical problems during the calculation of WSS values. -------------------------------------------------------------------- 5. Known Issues -------------------------------------------------------------------- - Case 32807: Instability for some rare dispersive material configurations. - Case 47035: Random problems in the visualization of Dispersive Viewer. - Case 54000: Random element appearing in Gridder. - Case 61881: Rare issue with the distribution of the simulation job to the GPUs when using CUDA. - Case 86865: Job priorities may not correspond to the job execution. - Case 98764: Potentially decreased accuracy in rare specific events for the sensor combiner of the Far-field sensor.