Digital Imaging CHAPTERS 1, 4-7 CARTER

CHAPTER 1 Conventional radiography Film/screen system Light exposes film Film processed with chemicals Film taken to radiologist for interpretation

Let’s compare rooms for Conventional (Film) CR DR

Let’s compare image formation/acquisition Film CR DR

Let’s compare image processing Film CR DR

CR- Chapter 4 IP layers Protective Phosphor/active Reflective Conductive Color Support Backing barcode Protects phosphor PSP-barium fluorohalide Sends light forward when released in the reader Absorbs/reduces static electricity Absorb stimulating light (laser)/reflects emitted light Protects the back of cassette Match image with patient

Reading the IP Red laser light scans in a raster pattern at 2 eV Laser scans multiple times as IP moves through reader =translation Light produced –detected by photomultiplier

DIGITIZING PHOSPHOR STORAGE CENTER IS SCANNED RELEASED ELECTRON ENTER DIGITIZER DIVIDES THE ANALOG SIGNAL INTO SQUARES (MATRIX). EACH SQUARE IS ASSIGNED A NUMBER BASED ON THE BRIGHTNESS OF THE SQUARE SQUARE IS CALLED A PIXEL

SPATIAL RESOLUTION Film screen = 10 line pairs per mm CR =2.55 to 5 line pairs per mm (lp/mm) Less detail in CR but more tissue densities seen given the appearance of better detail Wider dynamic recording range

speed Film – determined by size and layers of crystals and phosphors CR – amount of photostimulable luminescence given off = 100 film speed screen (approx)

EXPOSURE –CASSETTE BASED-chapter 5 What is the relationship between selecting the correct body part and computer interpretation of the image? Too much kVp (above 120) and too little (below 45) can over excite or produce too little excitation of the phosphors Does the pixel size of a 2000 x 2000 matrix change when using an 8 X10 vs a 14 x 17 CRcassette? How does the change in pixel size impact resolution?

MOIRE PATTERN Grid lines from a stationary grid can cause a wavy artifact known as a moire pattern. The grid lines and the scanning laser run parallel

Exposure Indicators Exposure indicator number Fuji, Philips, Konica – S number-indirect relationship Kodak –Exposure index (EI)-direct relationship Page 88 tables 5-1 and 5-2

HISTOGRAM Graphic representation of the numerical tone (grays/blacks/whites) of an x-ray exposure Important in CR Four modes of date recognition Automatic data recognition Semiautomatic mode Multiple manual selection mode Fixed mode

OTHER ARTIFACTS Plate artifacts Plate reader artifacts Adhesive tape residue cracks Plate reader artifacts Line patterns Plate reader loads multiple IP in one cassette Image processing artifacts Incorrect erasure (ghosting) moire Printer artifacts White lines

CASSETTELESS -Chapter 6 Direct and indirect DR plate (amorphous selenium) or(a-Se)-converts radiation into an electrical signal –CCD or silicon detectors Signal stored in a Thin film transmitter (TFT)

INDIRECT DIRECT Two step process X-rays convert to light Light converted to electrical signal Sent to TFT X-rays converted directly to an electrical signal Sent to TFT

DQE Detective Quantum Efficiency Ability to convert an x-ray signal into a useful image Of the following-which do you think has the most efficient DQE? Film or CR or indirect capture DR or direct capture DR?

Digital Radiographic Image Processing and Manipulation Chapter 7

CR image *sampling (*conversion from analog to digital) Histogram X axis = amount of exposure read Y axis = number of pixels for each exposure Low kVp= wider histogram High kVp = narrower Histogram is anatomy specific

NYQUIST THEOREM When sampling(converting from analog to digital) a signal, the sampling frequency must be greater than the bandwidth of the input signal http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.cs.cf.ac.uk/Dave/Multimedia/nyquist.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.cs.cf.ac.uk/Dave/Multimedia/node149.html&h=420&w=529&sz=6&hl=en&start=10&um=1&tbnid=zyDOLJNUH6mM8M:&tbnh=105&tbnw=132&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dnyquist%

Sample? Try this at home http://www.pcguide.com/art/soundSampleRate-c.html

ALIASING When the spatial frequency is greater than the Nyquist frequency and the sampling occurs less than twice per cycle, information is lost causing a moire effect.

Automatic Rescaling Fixing the image Why is this dangerous?

LUT and Windowing Automatic rescaling to achieve appropriate contrast on an image http://www.sprawls.org/resources/DIGPROCESS/module.htm#13

LATITUDE Find the percentage the exposure can be greater or less than before it impacts the image in CR

IMAGE MANIPULATION cont. Window- how light or dark an image should be Level-contrast Background removal or shuttering Removing the unexposed borders or to blacken the white borders

MTF Modular Transfer function Reproducing the spatial resolution of an object as a diagnostic image 100% of the spatial resolution of the object can never be perfectly reproduced – even with DR and CR – why? -See Bushong – pgs 451-454

acronyms PSP CRT ADC IP CR DR PACS SNR CNR 10. CCD 11. FOV 12. LUT 13. DICOM 14. RIS 15. HIS 16. TFT 17. DQE

Photostimulable phosphor-europian activated barium fluorohalide Cathode-ray tube or computer monitor Analog to digital converter Imaging plate computed /digital radiography Picture archiving communication systems

SIGNAL TO NOISE RATIO PG 410 –BUSHONG The higher the signal the less the noise. CONTRAST TO NOISE RATIO can be manipulated until noise becomes too apparent-limited by the SNR Charge coupled device- crystal silicon- small, replaces vidicon in fluoro, device used in DR Field of View –how much of the patient is imaged in the matrix Look up Table – plotting grays on a scale Digital imaging and communications in medicine -blending PACS and other imaging modalities Radiology Information system Hospital Information system

Thin Film Transmitters- indirect and direct conversion detector in DR Thin Film Transmitters- indirect and direct conversion detector in DR. Stores electronic charge (from converted light) before computer processes it. Detective Quantum Efficiency converting x-ray intensities into a radiographic image