What is digital radiology?
Digital radiology, or digital X-ray, is a modern type of radiography that uses digital sensors instead of photographic film, as is the case in traditional radiography. The captured image is immediately converted into digital data and is available for viewing within seconds.
What does it consist of?
The procedures for digital radiology are very similar to those of a traditional X-ray, but it is a very different technology. Radiation still passes through the body, forming an image based on the amount of radiation passing through the different organs, but the difference is that digital sensors are used to capture the image, instead of photographic film.
Sensors for digital radiology generally consist of active matrix flat panels, which in turn consist of a detector layer placed on top of the active matrix in which thin-film transistors and photodiodes are arranged. These sensors can convert the image to digital format in real time, allowing the physician to immediately view the results on the computer.
Why is it done?
Digital X-rays, exactly like traditional X-rays, allow the physician to examine the inside of the patient’s body. This can be useful to see the extent of damage caused by an injury, including fractures.
They also allow the detection of soft tissue masses, which can lead to the discovery of tumors or other diseases. Digital radiographs are also very interesting in dentistry, because the timely availability of the results allows the dentist to improve the quality of the images by adjusting the exposure in real time, thus obtaining clear and accurate results, which can be immediately shared with the patient.
The clarity of digital radiographs makes them better than traditional radiographs when it comes to finding small fractures and imperfections in teeth.
What are the advantages of digital radiology?
Digital radiographs have several advantages over other options:
- Clarity: digital radiographs can produce very high quality images, thanks to which the physician or dentist can observe the scanned body part very accurately.
- Real-time adjustments: the ability to produce images immediately means that the physician can adjust the exposure in real time, making images lighter or darker as needed, to see certain aspects of the scan more clearly.
- Speed: results are available for immediate consultation.
- Reduced radiation exposure: digital radiographs not only produce high-definition images in a matter of seconds, but do so with a lower radiation dose, which is healthier for the patient.
- Efficiency: In addition to being more efficient in terms of radiation used, digital X-rays save a lot of time and labor that would otherwise be spent creating, sending and retrieving traditional X-ray results. Digital results are available quickly and easily at the click of a mouse.
- Elimination of the use of chemicals to develop the film.
What are the disadvantages of digital radiology?
There are few, but the biggest disadvantage is that this technology is expensive. Also, digital X-ray instruments tend to be less flexible and less transportable than traditional X-ray instruments.