Four Benefits of Digital X-Ray Imaging
The history of X-ray imaging is long and illustrious, from when it was accidentally discovered way back in 1895, to all the advancements it has undergone over the years up to now when it has now gone digital. It is no exaggeration to state that X-rays transformed medicine, and especially when it comes to diagnosis when they made their entry into the world of medicine. They have proved to be particularly helpful when it comes to the diagnostic part of medicine from identifying broken bones, finding foreign object in the body when folks, especially children, swallow them among many other ways in which they are used. Given the technological advancements over the years it was only a matter of time before X-rays followed suit, which they did with the introduction of digital X-rays. What a digital X-ray system does is that they combine software and hardware to ensure the resulting image of the inside of the body is as detailed as possible. They have also made the process of taking X-rays to be quicker than it used to be as images are processed and transmitted to monitors within minutes of them being taken and can also be easily stored for future access. It is no secret that digital X-rays have been super beneficial as far as the medical world is concerned and this article will look to highlight four of the benefits that have been due to digital X-rays.
One of the most important benefits that have come with the introduction of digital X-rays is that they have proved to be extremely time saving. Before X-rays went digital, it would take about 15 minutes to develop an X-ray. One would go have an X-ray taken than have to wait as the image was being generated. This was a major issue especially for those who needed urgent medical attention and weren’t in a position to wait. With digital X-rays, as is covered over at frontlineer.com by the subject matter experts over there, the waiting times have been slashed significantly from the fifteen minutes to a matter of seconds. Once processed, the digital images are immediately stored and are available for viewing on a computer meaning you don’t have to wait anymore as your X-tray images are being processed. It also makes it very easy and convenient to send the X-ray images if need arises maybe to another hospital, to another specialist or to an insurance company or even to make a copy of the same.
Another benefit that has been brought about due to digital x-rays is the one where it is practically impossible to lose images. This is because with digital X-rays, you are able to store your images digitally on drives or on even through cloud-based storage which means that one is unlikely to lose important images as was the case before when the X-ray images were stored in physical files and could therefore be misplaced or lost to accidents such as fires. Even if data is lost, given that most medical facilities back-up data to a cloud server, it is highly unlikely that you will lose your images.
Another benefit of digital X-rays is the fact that, even though all forms of radiography expose one to some level of radiation, digital X-rays come with up to a reduction of 75% or even more as far as exposure to radiation is concerned as compared to traditional X-rays. This, as is discussed by the folks over at frontlineer.com, helps promote a higher quality of care as is the fact that digital X-rays lead to improved communication between doctors and patients as well as increased accuracy and speed of diagnosis. Digital X-rays also provide a much more detailed and comprehensive picture than traditional X-rays which means that a physician is able to better detect and treat problems as well as spotting and treating such problems a lot sooner than was the case with traditional X-rays.
The fourth benefit we are going to highlight as far as digital X-ray imaging is concerned is the fact that they are a less expensive as well as being a more environmentally-friendly option as compared to traditional X-rays. Traditional X-rays are more expensive since the film that is used to develop the images is quite costly to purchase, a cost that is not only absorbed by medical centers, but is also transferred to patients. According to the folks over at frontlineer.com, the technology required for digital X-rays is a lot cheaper and readily available to install and operate, with the saving the medical centers making trickling down to patients in terms of lower fees. Digital X-rays are also more friendly to the environment as compared to traditional X-rays since they don’t require chemicals to develop as well the fact that it doesn’t make use of the disposable paper films.
The above are some of the benefits of digital X-rays, with more on this and other related topics to be found over at the ever reliable frontlineer.com.
