title: Digital processing of film radiographs.
abstract: Initial clinical experience with a system for the digitization, processing, and display of film radiographs is described. Film is digitized using a high-intensity laser scanner; the recorded image data may then be subjected to a wide variety of processing options, with display of processed images on television monitors. The possibilities of clinical applications to processing and display of chest radiographs and film mammograms are described. A comparison of conventional analog subtraction and digitized film subtraction angiography indicated equivalent diagnostic capability, with the advantage of flexible, interactive image processing with the digital technique. A specially designed, energy-selective cassette permits dual-energy imaging from two films effectively exposed to different x-ray energy spectra. Dual-energy imaging may be capable of the characterization of body materials, including lung nodules, and useful for eliminating obscuring radiographic shadows overlying regions of interest.
mesh_terms: D000792:Angiography / Q000379:methods; D003626:Data Display; D001330:Electronic Data Processing; D006801:Humans; D008327:Mammography / Q000379:methods; D011856:Radiographic Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods; D011859:Radiography / Q000379:methods*; D013382:Subtraction Technique