| Technology has always had a significant pain point, | | | | photostimulatable phosphor, which is a chemical that |
| that it renders old equipment unnecessary and | | | | responds to X-rays. This plate is enclosed inside a |
| obsolete. However, such is not the case with radiology | | | | cassette, and placed over or under the area of the |
| equipment, since there are many software upgrades | | | | body that is to be examined as X-rays pass through |
| that can keep one up to speed with the latest | | | | the same. Following this, the plate is run through the CR |
| advancements without having to spend additional | | | | scanner radiology equipment, a laser scanner that |
| funds on hardware. Further, since there are many | | | | creates a digital image. One can use old equipment to |
| budgetary restraints in organizations that have | | | | create images in the DICOM format using portable |
| increased further due to the recently bygone | | | | X-ray machines. This DICOM format is similar to the |
| recession, and letting go of old hardware is also not a | | | | JPEG image format which can be enhanced using |
| very practical solution. | | | | software like Photoshop. |
| The perfect means to thus utilize old radiology | | | | And if you think that CR is similar to digital radiography, |
| equipment is to combine it with the computed | | | | let me tell you that even though both can use portable |
| radiography (CR) technology. Simply put, CR is a | | | | X-ray machines and produce editable images, the |
| connecting medium between older radiography | | | | nature of the media is where the difference lies. As |
| versions and the latest updated ones; the hardware | | | | mentioned above, CR uses an imaging plate located |
| used is almost identical, but the conventional film that | | | | inside a cassette, while digital radiography can capture |
| was used to capture images is replaced with an | | | | the image directly on a flat panel detector. |
| imaging plate. One of the ingredients of this plate is | | | | |