Author:

Keywords:

Science & Technology, Life Sciences & Biomedicine, Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging, FLUOROSCOPY, IMAGE QUALITY, QUALITY ASSURANCE, Quality Control, Radiographic Image Enhancement, Reference Standards, 1103 Clinical Sciences, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging, 3202 Clinical sciences, 3211 Oncology and carcinogenesis

Abstract:

The difficulties of making the results of threshold contrast-detail diameter tests on X-ray image intensifier systems consistent with published performance standards are discussed. The current approach to contrast-detail testing is described and an alternative method intended to give greater consistency for all image intensifier input field diameters proposed. The current and alternative test conditions are compared on two image intensifier systems. The results obtained show that the contrast-detail curves for image intensifier systems with a wide range of input field diameters can be effectively normalized to be directly comparable to a common reference standard by applying the proposed alternative test conditions. The implications of this result on the interpretation of the contrast-detail test are discussed.