Introduction

• Conventional X-ray film has an intrinsically high resolution exceeding that of many digital systems.
• Despite this digital radiography has superseded conventional radiography in many hospital departments.
• Disadvantages associated with conventional film-based radiography may include difficulty or impossibility to correctly expose all areas on a radiograph. A darkroom and chemicals are required to process the radiographs and exposure problems and film faults are common Radiography: film faults. Film is also bulky to store and radiographs are easily lost and difficult to distribute.
• Digital imaging systems were developed in the early 1980s to overcome some of the problems associated with conventional film-based systems.

Advantages

Disadvantages

Digital radiography systems

Exposure

Image quality

Image processing

Further Reading

Publications

Refereed papers

• Recent references from PubMed and VetMedResource.
• Ewers R S & Hofmann-Parisot M (2000) Assessment of the quality of radiographs in 44 veterinary clinics in Great Britain. Vet Rec 147 (1), 7-11 PubMed.
• Bansall G J (2006) Digital radiography, a comparison with modern conventional imaging. Postgrad Med J 82 (969), 425-428 PubMed.