Dear Digital X-Ray Insider,
In the developed world, sometimes digital x-ray gets taken for granted when viewed against other advanced imaging modalities such as CT, MRI, and PET. But in developing countries, the installation of a digital x-ray system can represent a major step forward that opens up new possibilities in terms of patient care.
That's the case at a clinic in Guatemala, where an alliance of nonprofit groups, imaging vendors, and a U.S. university combined to install digital x-ray where it didn't exist before. In addition to the better image quality possible with the new system, the digital x-ray unit creates the possibility for remote teleradiology interpretation of images acquired at the site. Read all about the project in this edition's Insider Exclusive, which you're getting before the rest of the AuntMinnie.com membership.
In other digital x-ray news, learn about a new study that highlights how a commercially available software application that suppresses bone may be able to improve visualization of lung nodules on digital chest radiography images. The software improved reader sensitivity by 17%, although there was a decline in specificity. Learn more by clicking here.
We can all learn a little something from the experiences of the past, right? It's in that spirit that we've published a pair of stories in the past month on some of the earliest x-ray technology.
In one article, staff writer Nicole Pettit profiles a Florida machinist who's created the Turn of the Century Electrotherapy Museum, which houses his collection of fascinating antique x-ray machines and radiotherapy equipment. Check it out by clicking here.
Our second story describes the experiences of Dutch researchers who came upon a 115-year-old x-ray machine, got it running again, and even produced images. Find out how it compared to current technology in terms of image quality and radiation dose in this story.
Also check out our articles on these topics:
- Why routine x-ray might fall short for detecting pediatric osteopenia
- How, contrary to headlines you might have read, airport x-ray scanners pose an insignificant cancer risk
- How you might be better off skipping gonad shielding in pediatric x-rays
Get these stories and more in your Digital X-Ray Community, at xray.auntminnie.com.
