The state of the art in X-ray diagnostic. An overview

In modern X-ray diagnostic, the transformation from the analog film-based systems to a purely digital application is going on in a high speed. The digital technology is based on X-ray detectors which are able to produce electric signals. These can convert into digital information and generate by computers to radiological images. With this link the next step is consequential: the networking of all radiological modalities by a system called picture archiving and communication system (PACS). The ''digital revolution'' has a great influence on the ratio between image quality and dose rate: It is feasible to decrease the dose rate without significant losses of image quality or - on the other hand - to improve the image quality without a significant increase of the dose rate. (orig.)