DARKROOM PROCESSING Artifacts REVIEW Types

DARKROOM , PROCESSING & Artifacts REVIEW

Types of Safelights n n Kodak Wratten 6 B – brownish red filter 7. 5 to 15 watt bulb @ 4 feet above counter n Kodak GBX – brighter (reddish) light is directed upwards White walls and dust free n What type of film was amber filter used for? n

SAFELIGHTS

Safelight distance?

UNLOAD EXPOSED FILM

FILM BIN - STORAGE

FILM ID PRINTER n n n What information Must be present For Legal reasons?

PT ID LEGAL SHOULD NOT BE WRITTEN ON

Film/IMAGE Identification Pt name n Exam date & time n Pt x-ray number n Pt Birthday/DOB n Rt or Lt marker n Optional – Exam type – Dr. Name n

n Position of film travel on feed tray may determine type of artifact n What are the 3 classification?

Processing Film Floor model (LAB) Table top Close the lid Before leaving

No longer in use in clinics DARKROOM DAYLIGHT Processor

NOTES ON PROCESSING n DEVELOPER n FIXER n WASH n DRY

LOAD CASSETTE

n Stored on end prevents what type of artifact n Check expiration

n DEVELOPER FIXER WASH DRY n WATER - SOLVENT n n n

Silver recovery

silver recovery- see notes n n n A final consideration in film processing is silver recovery. This term is the process by which silver in the processing chemicals is reclaimed and recycled by a unit, such as the one shown in the illustration. This recycling is important for two reasons. Silver has economic value in its recycled form and helps recover some of the cost of the unexposed film, which is expensive, in part, because of the silver in it. Secondly, federal regulations require that heavy metals like silver be reclaimed from waste solutions before they are disposed of, to prevent pollution of the environment. Roughly half the silver in the film ends up dissolved in the fixer in the automatic processor. Different kinds of silver recovery units are used to process the used fixer to recover the silver.

List the 3 types of silver recovery systems

Metallic, Electyolytic & Chemical

“FILM” & IMAGE ARTIFACTS RT 244 REV 11/09

ARTIFACTS: AN UNWANTED DENSITY ON THE FILM Can be a PLUS density (dark ) or MINUS density (LIGHT) http: //www. xray 2000. co. uk/

Artifacts - Types n Processing Artifacts n Exposure Artifacts n Handling & Storage Artifacts

Exposure Artifacts Motion n Improper patient position n Wrong screen-film match n Poor film/screen contact n Double exposure n Warped cassette n Improper grid position n

PATHOLOGY ?

pneumonia

Pathology?

Progressive massive fibrosis

SCOLIOSIS

GRIDS CAN LEAVE LINES ON THE IMAGE

OOR DETAIL GOOD DETAIL P

Lack of contact between film and cassette can cause “blurring” of the image

When there is a space between the contact of the film to the intensifying screens, a larger amount of light is allowed to reach the film – causing “more density” on fim

POOR SCREEN CONTACT

Patient motion

Blurring of image due to patient movement during exposure.

Artifact

CR image – NEW IMAGE n Line caused from dirt collected in a CR Reader

Patient swallowed batteries What size are they?

cast

Processing Artifacts Emulsion pickoff n Chemical fog n Guide-shoe marks n Water marks n Chemical spots n Guide-shoe & roller scratches n

Developer Spots

Water spot

Discolored film due to hypo (fixer) retention. Chemicals not washed off – over time will turn film brown

Scratch marks from rollers in automatic processor.

PATIENT ARTIFACT JEWERLY

Handling & Storage Artifacts Light fog n Radiation fog n Static n Kink marks n Scratches n Dirty cassettes n

Crimping /cresent mark

Double Exposure 2 exposures made on top of each other – from poor handling of cassettes

Type and cause?

Dirt on screen mimicking a foreign object.

Scratch marks from improper handling.

Light fog Vs Radiation fog HOW can you tell the difference on a film/ cassette?

Kink mark or nail pressure mark

motion

Double exposure Child

Poor screen contact

Double exposure

Exposure Artifacts n Could be corrected before exposure = Jewelry n Hands in the anatomy n Something on the patient n

? Hands over upper abdomen

Is it motion or double exposure?

Pt clothing

Hip replacement

2 chest tubes in the patient

PATHOLOGY NOT ARTIFACT

Name & cause of this?

scratches

Pacemaker

Digital image Mis. Registrationi error

Roller marks from film stuck – then pulled from processor

Hardware In cervical spine

n n Dust in imaging plate can cause white marks on image – Both in film/screen and computed radiography

E E G MONITOR

n n n Does this show good detail? Is all of the anatomy present? How is the density / contrast?

n Does this show good detail? – YES n Is all of the anatomy present? – No (part of the little finger is not seen) n n n How is the density / contrast? Density – a little “light” underexposed Contrast is good

Which image shows “better” detail Faster speed Slower speed

CR - ? Which shows “better detail” Why/how? 8 x 10 cassette 14 x 17 cassette

See anything wrong with this image?

Contrast? What influences this? in f/s & CR?

?

What are the following types of artifact classifications? Handling/Storage Exposure Processing (Chemical)

NEW IMAGE n Double expousure n Femur & chest

grid cut-off Grid lines grids are not necessary for a 3 year old

Review of some CR artifacts

n towel that was used to help in positioning a child n CR is MORE sensitive to ARTIFACTS n NEW IMAGE

What do you See? 2 exposures

Collimation – reducing the size of beam helps to improve the image, and reduce the dose to the patient

Discarded x-ray film used to make ♫ records ♫