Reduction of patient exposure using digital luminescence radiography

Purpose: to determine the minimum acceptable exposure for an adequate image quality using digital luminescence radiography (DLR) instead of screen-film system (SFS). Material and methods: the impact of different physical and technical parameters on image quality and exposure was evaluated by obtaining radiographs of a test phantom. Conventional and digital radiographs of a humanoid phantom, an anatomical preparation or an animal were obtained using variable mAs. The image quality was rated by eight experienced radiologists using clinical criteria of image quality. The image quality evaluation was analysed using graphs. Results: the exposure could be reduced by 60% for skull radiographs, 57% for abdominal radiographs, and 25% for chest radiographs of premature infants when using DLR instead of conventional SFS. Conclusion: DLR provides adequate image quality with reasonably low exposure. (author)