How does modern digital radiography (DR) Equipment balance dose and safety？

At the recently concluded RNSA exhibition, many experts at Dawei Medical's booth were particularly interested in two aspects: achieving excellent image clarity on one hand, and ensuring patient safety on the other. This article will explain how modern digital radiography equipment achieves this balance.

The "Balance Scale" of X-ray Examination

In the field of medical imaging, doctors and engineers are constantly working with an invisible "balance." The challenge is to visualize every detail inside the body while minimizing the radiation dose.

In the era of traditional film (Film/cr), X-ray equipment was more akin to an old-fashioned film camera. The light-sensitive properties of the film were very fixed, and to ensure a usable image was obtained on the first try, doctors often tended to choose a relatively high safety dose. This inadvertently increased the radiation burden on patients.

With the introduction of digital radiography equipment (DR), imaging technology entered a whole new dimension. Modern DR equipment no longer relies on chemical film but captures signals through highly sensitive flat panel detectors. Even at very low doses, it can capture rich tissue information, greatly reducing the need for retakes.

Hardware is the "Gatekeeper" of Radiation dose.

If digitalization is the "brain" of medical imaging, then hardware equipment is its "eyes" and "shield." Achieving a balance between clear imaging and low radiation dose is crucial, and the efficiency of the hardware is paramount.

1. Flat-panel detectors: Modern high-end DR systems commonly use a material called "cesium iodide." This material is extremely sensitive to X-rays. It can capture extremely detailed images with only a minimal amount of X-rays.

2. Filtration technology: Not all X-rays contribute to imaging. Some rays have very low energy and cannot penetrate the body to reach the detector, but they are absorbed by the skin, increasing the patient's radiation risk. A modern DR system is equipped with sophisticated metal filters that can filter out low-energy rays.

3. Collimator: The amount of radiation dose depends not only on the intensity of the X-rays but also on the area of irradiation. Modern digital radiography equipment is equipped with highly flexible collimators that precisely focus the X-rays on the required area, preventing excess radiation from affecting surrounding body tissues.

The Invisible "Dose Filters"

Many patients think that an X-ray is over as soon as the picture is taken, but in fact, many amazing things happen inside the DR (Digital Radiography) equipment in the split second after the shutter is pressed.

1. During the exposure: the Modern DR X-ray system has a function called "automatic exposure control." During imaging, the detector senses in real-time how much energy it has received. When enough energy has been received to produce a clear image, it shuts off the X-rays in microseconds, ensuring the patient avoids unnecessary radiation exposure.

2. After the exposure: Digital radiology equipment has powerful processing software that can precisely process the "raw image" captured at a low dose using algorithms to obtain high-contrast, clear images.

Power and Dosage

The relationship between power and dosage is not simply a direct proportion, but is related to time and efficiency.

1. Why isn't higher power always better?

In radiology, high power typically refers to stronger penetration and higher tube current output, allowing the equipment to generate extremely high tube currents (mA) in a very short time.

This allows for a shorter exposure time (s), effectively preventing "motion blur" and reducing the need for repeated exposures due to blurry images, thus indirectly reducing the total radiation dose.

2. How to choose the right equipment based on power?

Primary care clinics/medical examination centers: If the main focus is on patients with average body types or routine chest X-rays, 32kW or 40kW of power is usually more than sufficient. Blindly pursuing 80kW not only increases costs, but if not properly controlled, can easily lead to unnecessary overexposure.

Large general hospitals/orthopedic specialists: For obese patients (thicker tissue, requiring higher penetration) or for thick areas such as the spine and pelvis, 50kW or higher power is necessary. This is because low-power equipment requires longer exposure times when imaging these areas, resulting in patients absorbing more scattered radiation.

Conclusion: The warmth of technology lies in its reverence for life.

Through an in-depth exploration of digital radiography equipment, we can see that every innovation in imaging technology has only one core objective: to accurately visualize lesions while providing the gentlest care to patients.

Balancing "dosage" and "clarity" is a social responsibility for medical manufacturing companies. Dawei Medical has consistently upheld this understanding and put it into practice.

Want to learn more about in-depth analysis and industry news regarding digital X-ray imaging equipment? We invite you to continue following the official Dawei Medical website(https://www.daweimed.com/).