In the past, when medical professionals needed to take an x-ray of a patient, they used film. This process was time consuming and involved the use of hazardous chemicals. In contrast, digital x-rays are much faster and there is no need for any chemicals as the image gets sent digitally straight from the machine to a computer where it can be viewed in real time. The end result is that health practitioners don't have to wait before they get their patients' results back which helps improve their efficiency. In this article we’ll look into three of the reasons why digital x-ray is better than film.
1. No chemicals or film required
In film-based systems you have to use chemicals to process the x-ray image. These chemicals can be hazardous and in some cases toxic when not used or disposed of correctly. As well as film-based x-ray systems using chemicals, they also require film which can be very costly.
In digital x-ray, the machine produces a digital image of the patient which can be viewed on a computer without the need for any chemicals, removing risk of harm to practitioners, and the environment. In addition, digital x-rays can help save health practitioners money as there is no need to continue buying chemicals or film.
2. Shorter processing time
Typically a film-based system takes a longer time to process than a digital system because of the delay in taking the film out of the cassette and processing it properly. This development process means it could take up to 20 minutes to get an image.
On the other hand, in a digital system you can see the image within a matter of seconds. This efficiency means you can diagnose your patients a lot quicker as you're not wasting time processing the film.
3. Easy to share images
An image from a film-based x-ray system is difficult to share as you get only one copy from the sheet of film. This means you have to make multiple copies to share it with your patients which is time and resource intensive.
A digital x-ray system on the other hand makes it easy to share and distribute x-ray images to your patients and referring physicians through web-based viewers and email.
In conclusion
Digital x-rays are a great alternative to film because they don’t use chemicals, provide quicker processing time, and make it easy to share x-ray images. If you need help with upgrading your facility or would like advice on how best to implement this technology into your practice, get in touch with our team today!
