Dear AuntMinnie Member,
A new study on the radiation dose characteristics of the three main radiography modalities -- film-screen x-ray, computed radiography (CR), and digital radiography (DR) -- gives the nod to DR for delivering the lowest dose to patients for most exams while producing diagnostic-quality images.
That's according to an article we're featuring as the Insider Exclusive in this edition of the Digital X-Ray Insider. In the story, we describe how Italian researchers assessed the radiation dose from each of the three types of equipment installed in the accident and emergency department of their hospital.
They compared the radiation dose delivered for each of the three modalities for six standard radiography exams in 10 projections, ranging from the anteroposterior abdomen to the lateral skull. Radiation dose was calculated using the entrance surface dose and effective dose criteria.
The researchers found that for most procedures, DR delivered the lowest dose to patients, with film-screen x-ray in the middle and CR coming out highest. Get the rest of the details, as well as the group's opinions on the other benefits of digital x-ray, by clicking here. As a Digital X-Ray Insider, you're receiving this story before the rest of the AuntMinnie.com membership.
In other x-ray news, a new study concludes that reimbursement for radiography-based computer-aided detection (CAD) lung studies is improving in the U.S. Third-party payors began processing claims earlier this year for lung studies, and at present the procedure is covered by 52 national, regional, and local payors representing over 60 million covered lives. Find out about it by clicking here.
Another recent story tracks the strong growth of DR shipments in the U.S. in 2005 and 2006. DR shipments now equal shipments of conventional x-ray systems on a per-unit basis, the article states. Find out what's behind DR's remarkable growth by clicking here.
Feel free to send any ideas, comments, and suggestions for future articles on digital x-ray to me at [email protected].
