NewsImage acquisition with DR systems
The DR (Direct Radiography) process is a direct digital technology, which works either with CCDs (Charge Coupled Device) or Flat Panels. The CCD technology requires less work stages than CR, but is less compact and flexible compared to the advanced Flat Panel systems. Another advantage of CCDs is the comparatively reasonable price.
The Flat Panel technology, which works with full field detector panels, is currently the most technically advanced solution. It is compact, enables optimum image quality, requires only very few work stages, and causes minimal radiation exposure. With high patient capacity, a DR system has the advantage, despite higher investment cost, that the image is available on the monitor more quickly for diagnosis, and that the work process is optimised by the fact that the cassette-handling phase from the X-ray machine to the CR machine (scanner) no longer applies.
The CPI RAD VISION and Carestream DRX-1 systems are new options in the DR area. As newest generation systems (november 2009) they both feature a considerably better price / performance ratio than older systems that have been available in the marketplace for some time. By installing the DRX-1 wireless detector in a cassette size of 35x43 cm, conventional X-ray systems can be converted for digital radiography. After exposure, the detector ‘wirelessly’ transmits digital images by radio to the system’s recording console, where they can be immediately displayed and revised. From the console, images can be sent directly to a printer, mini PACS or PACS, or other target device in the network.
These systems are simple, reliable, flexible, and feature state-of-the-art image processing with first class image quality.