First experiences with a dry digital laser imager for computed radiography

摘要

The production of hardcopy output, of suitable quality for modern digital radiography systems, is generally performed using a laser imager exposing a silver-halide film. Until recently the use of technologies that do not require the 'wet' photographic processing of the film have been hampered by poor image quality. However the Polaroid Helios imager offers high imaging specification, without the environmental overheads, by utilizing a totally digital printing paradigm. The Helios system was evaluated in terms of its physical imaging properties, and a clinical trial was undertaken. The results, although preliminary in nature, indicate that the Helios imager does indeed offer a viable alternative to conventional laser imagers. This encourages us to carry out a full trial in clinical routine.