Dose reduction in thorax radiography in simulated neonates with additional filtration and digital luminescence radiography

Purpose: to determine the minimum acceptable radiation dose for an adequate image quality in thorax a.p. radiographs of neonates using mobile X-ray equipment Material and Methods: the influence of additional filtration (1.0 mm Al+0.1 mm Cu) on image quality and radiation dose was determined for the speed class 400 screen-film system (SFS) and digital luminescence radiography (DLR) by making radiographs of a test phantom. Conventional and digital thorax a.p. radiographs of a rabbit were produced using various tube current-time products. the quality of the rabbit radiographs was judged by eight radiologists applying image quality criteria according to the German guidelines and the recommendations of the European Community Results: the added filter resulted in a dose reduction of 39% at 66 kV. DLR gave a further dose reduction of 25% in comparison to the speed class 400 SFS while maintaining adequate image quality, i. e. the radiographs were clinically acceptable with regard to quality criteria Conclusion: the radiation dose resulting from thorax a.p. radiographs of neonates can be reduced by approximately 50% with the use of additional filtration and DLR

Digital Luminescence Radiography and Conventional Radiography in Abdominal Contrast Examinations

In 326 patients abdominal contrast radiographs were compared to digital luminescence radiographs (DLR) and conventional screen-film system ones. The digital exposure dose was 50% of the conventional. In DLR, 2 different types of postprocessed images were obtained from each data set. A display with low spatial frequency enhancement filtered to look like a conventional radiograph was compared to a display with high spatial frequency enhancement. Conventional and DLR images were evaluated randomly and separately by 4 radiologists by means of a questionnaire. DLR proved to be diagnostically equivalent to the conventional technique with the exception of a slightly diminished visibility of the mucosal pattern. High spatial frequency enhancement did not provide additional diagnostic information and should be dispensed with in abdominal examinations.

Digital Luminescence Radiography Using a Chest Phantom

With the introduction of picture and archiving communicating systems an alternative image display for the wards might be a personal computer (PC). The intention with this study was to evaluate the diagnostic image quality of the monitor of a PC compared to that of a workstation. Eighty-five digital radiographs of a chest phantom with simulated tumors in the mediastinum and right lung were saved on optical discs. The examinations were reviewed by 4 radiologists on a monitor at a workstation and at a PC, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed. No significant difference was found between performance of the PC and the workstation.