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 INTRODUCTIONg
P In the Radiology deptt. X ray films are used to
record the radiographic image. X ray films have
photosensitive material (AgBr) which records the
information.
P When the x ray film is exposed with the light or x
ray radiation, during this process of radiography the
latent image is formed.
P The emulsion of x ray film must be chemically
processed to bring out the latent image into the
visible & permanent form.

½
 DARKROOM
P The darkroom is a very important place in the
radiology deptt. of a hospital, nursing home or a
private x ray clinic for the processing of x ray
films. The term darkroom overstates the case,
since complete darkness is unnessary. In fact, a
great deal of safe illumination is provided to
facilitate darkroom procedures.

£
 Contd«.

P LOCATION: The darkroom should be

1. Centrally sited & serviced by hatches from the
adjacent imaging rooms.
2. Sited away from the damp & hot areas.
3. Accessible in terms of power & water supply.
SIZE: A dark room must be of minimum area
of 10 m square & a ceiling height of around
2.5 -3 m.

-
 Contd«.
P FLOOR: The floor should be durable, easily
cleaned, not sleeppery & resistant to staining &
corrosive substance. A light coloured material will be
an advantage to migrate against the low-light working
conditions.
P WALLS/ CEILING: The walls & ceiling
should be
P 1.Light in colour so as to reflect much light as
possible on to working surfaces. A high level of
reflected light means that it may be possible to work

ÿ
 Contd«.
With fewer safe lights, & should be easy to wipe
over & keep clean•
P ?UMIDITY: Relative humidity is maintained at
around 40-60 %
P TEMP. : Room temp. is maintained b/w 18-20 *c.
P RADIATION PROTECTION: The walls of dark
room can be protected by coating Ba. plaster,
using lead shielding or building them with greater
thikness. Doors can be lined with Pb. ply sheet.

[
 Contd«•
P ENTRANCE:
1. Single door system
2. Double door system
3. Revolving type
P DARK ROOM ILLUMINATION:
1. White lighting: is necessary for following tasks
Î Inspection & maintainance of cassettes &
screens.
 Contd«.
Î Cleaning of working surfaces.
Î Servicing of equipment.

P SAFE LIG?T: The darkroom should have a light

source which will not fog films & provide adequate
illumination. Safe lamps serve this purpose , they
should have filter of the proper colour . The working
distance from the safe light to the film should not be
less than 1.2 meter & bulb wattage should be less than
15 watts.

‰
 TYPES OF PROCESSING

Processing

Manual Automatic

Time-Temp•
Inspection
Method
D
MANUAL PROCESSING
P This is the process which make a latent image
into a visible image.
P It has 5 distinct steps
Development
Intermediate rinsing / Stop bath
Fixing
Washing
Drying



 Contd«.
P Processing is a series of actions by which exposed X
ray film yields an image. In processing a film, the
sequence of actions should be as follows:
P Mark the patient¶s name on the film.
P Develop the film.
P Rinse out developer from the film or stop the
development.
P Fix the image.
P Wash the fixer from the film.
P Dry the film.
P Check the name, date & patient X ray number on the
film.


 Contd«.

During the marking, development, rinsing of

developer from the film & fixing, there should
be no white light in the darkroom. But this
process can be done under the safe lighting.

½
 IDENTIFICATION OF T?E FILMg

P A film printer is used to mark the

identification of the patient on film.
P The patient¶s name should be written on the
film when it is taken out of the cassette.
Before it is put into the developer.

£
$ !
 $M,
%
In this method we just check the proper
development of visible image.

M-M!M,
%

In this method the time and temp. of the

solution is fixed.
-
BASIC MANUAL PROCESSING SYSTEM

ÿ
 DEVELOPING:
The film is now ready to be developed.
The film should be mounted in a hanger
& put into a tank of developer and
moved up and down once or twice in
the tank. The film should then be left to
develop. The time taken for the film to
develop depends on the temperature &
concentration of dev. solution.
[
 Contd«.
The temperature of the developer should be
measured in the morning and afternoon with the
thermometer provided. When the film is placed
in the developer, set the timer to the number of
minutes required for that temperature. The film
should only be removed when the clock has
stopped timing. The developing solution should
be covered to prevent oxidation of dev. from air
& light, when not in use.


 Contd«.

P The temperature time table below gives the

time, in minutes, that the film must stay in
the developer at the given temperature.

‰
TEMPERATURE-TIME TABLE:
M! .
&
& !$"M
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 .
ÿ ÿD
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½
-
½½ •ÿ £
½£ £•ÿ £

D
CONTENT OF MANUAL DEVELOPER
SOLUTION

P 1. Developing Agents
P 2. Accelerator
P 3. Preservative
P 4. Restrainer
P 5. Solvent

½

 DEVELOPING AGENT
P METOL:

P P-methyl aminophenol (C?3N?.C6?4O? )

White crystalline substance
Discovered in 1891
Rapidly acting
Produce low contrast
Unselective between exposed and unexposed grains
Restrained by increased presence of Br -

½
 P?ENIDON

P 1-phenyl-3pyrazolidone,introduced by Ilford Ltd

in 1940
Properties very similar to those of Metol
Rapidly acting
Produce low contrast
Unselective between exposed and unexposed grains

½½
?YDRQUINONE

1,4-Benzenediol [C6?4(O?)2], also called

Quinol.
White crystalline substance.
Discovered in 1880 .
Needs strong alkaline medium to react
Produce high contrast.
Selective between exposed and unexposed
grains.

½£
 ACCELERATOR
P Developing agents function in high alkaline
medium (p? 10-11.5) Generally Potassium
Carbonate and Potassium ?ydroxide are used.
Sodium Carbonate and sodium ?ydroxide are
often used in combination.
P Potassium compounds are preferred because of
their higher solubility but at the same time they
are costlier.

½-
 PRESERVATIVE
P Developing agents are reducers, hence they tend
to get oxidized by the action of the chemicals
and aerial oxidation
First step of oxidation produces sulphonates
These sulphonates further accelerate the rate of
oxidation
Sod . Sulphite( Na)SO0) / Pot . Sulphite(K)SO0) are
used as preservative to check the action of these
sulphonates to slow down the final stage of oxidation

½ÿ
 RESTRAINER
P It increases the selectivity of the developing
agents between the exposed and unexposed
grains by forming a negative barrier around the
grains.
P Restrainer is used to check the over-action of
the developing agents.

P Potassium bromide (KBr) is used in MQ

Developer.

½[
 SOLVENT

P Water is used as universal solvent.

Functions:
It acts as a carrying medium in which the developer
constituents are dissolved.
It has softening effect on the film emulsion, thus
allowing the developing chemicals to penetrate the
emulsion and act on the silver halides.

½
 RINSING / STOPBAT?g

P After development, the film should be rinsed

for about 30 seconds in clear water. During
this time the film should be lifted up and down
several times in the water tank.

½‰
 FIXINGg

P After the film has been rinsed, it should be put

in the fixing tank. The film should stay in this
tank for longer than 5 minutes.(there must be no
white light in the darkroom for the first 3
minutes of fixing time).

½D
CONTENTS OF FIXING C?EMICAL

P 1. Fixing agent
P 2. Accelerator
P 3. Preservative
P 4. ?ardner
P 5. Solvent

£

Fixing agent
P A fixing agent acts as a chemical which
combines with the largely insoluble silver
halides (bromide or iodide) in the film
emulsion to form the soluble compounds
which can diffuse and be washed out of the
emulsion.

P Sodium thiosulphate is used as fixing

agent.

£
 ACCELERATOR
P Fixing bath is acidic in nature (p? 4.0-5.0)
because
Fixing agents act only in acidic
environment.
This much low p? stops the action of
developer completely.
Acetic acid (C?3COO?) is the acid of
choice.

£½
 PRESERVATIVE

P The preservative in fixer retards the

decomposition of thiosulphate and thus delays
the onset of sulphurization. It¶s presence is
particularly in liquid concentrates.

P Sodium sulphite is commonly used.

££
 ?ARDNER

P Potassium alum or chrome alum is used as a

hardner.

P It hardens the gelatine in the film emulsion,

thereby protecting it against scratches•

£-
 SOLVENT

P Water is used as a solvent.

P It acts as a carrying medium in which

fixing contents are dissolved•

£ÿ
 WAS?ING

P After it has been fixed, the film should be

washed in the large washing tank.(this tank
usually has clean running water). The film
should stay in the water tank for at least 10
minutes. At this time the white light may be
on provided if no other films are being
processed.

£[
 DRYING
P The film is now ready to be dried. The drying
temperature must not exceed 35*c, and the
film must be hung in a dust-free area.
P Finally the dry developed film should be
checked to ensure that the name of the patient,
x ray number, the date & the L or R marker
can all be read easily. After checking, the film
can be put in a completed envelope & filed.

£
 

 

 
÷
      

 
 £
• ½


 
 ÿ
• ½


 
 

• ½



 £

• £ÿ

£‰
Maintenance of the manual processing
tank:
P The processing tank holds the solutions of
developer and fixer, and water for rinsing and
washing the films. The developing & fixing
solutions should be changed regularly, since
they become weaker with use & age.
P Remember : These chemicals can damage
skin & clothes. Rinse your hands immediately
if you spill any chemicals on them.

£D
 Contd«.
P Each day, before any films are processed, the
developer & the fixer should be stirred using
only the special rods provided for each
solution. The slightest mixer of these two
chemicals upsets the processing so never mix
the tanks or the stirring rods used for the two
chemical solutions. The developing rod should
only be used for the developer and the fixing
rod only for the fixer. The developing tank
should contain«.

-

 Contd«.
Only developer, and the fixing tank only fixer.
P The developing and fixing tank should full of
developer and fixer, respectively, at all times extra
developer and fixer should be kept in separate bottles
in darkroom for topping ± up the tanks.
P Both the developer and fixer solutions in their
respective tanks must be completely changed after
two weeks.
P The water rinse off developer from the film should be
completely changed everyday and the tank should be
kept full.

-
 Contd«.
P Running water should preferably be used to wash
off fixer from the films . If this is not possible, the
water tank must be large, and the water must be
changed everyday ( dirty water contains chemicals
which will spoil the film ± a waste of money and
time).
P The chemical solutions ( developer and fixer) and
rinsing and washing water should be kept at about
the same temperature.

-½
 Contd«.

P Check that the water running into tank is not

too hot. If the water is hot, it will be better to
change the water in the tank.
P The water coming into the tank should be as
clean as possible. If the water is muddy or
dirty ask for a filter. The filter should be
cleaned every week•

-£
PREPERING DEVELOPING SOLUTIONS

P Usually the manufacturers supply the

developing chemicals in the form of easy to
prepare packages along with instructions.
P The packs have identification numbers and there
is step by step instruction till the final amount of
solution is prepared.

--
PREPARING T?E DEVELOPING
SOLUTION
P In 12 Ltrs. of water, add with stirring, content of
part A (5 Ltrs.) with stirring then add content of
part B (500 ml.) with stirring. Next, add the
content of part C (500 ml.)with stirring. Make the
final solution 20 Ltrs. With water.

P Same solution is used as replenisher solution•

-ÿ
PREPARING T?E FIXING
SOLUTION

P In 18 Ltrs. Of water, add with stirring content of

part A (5 Ltrs.) and wait till solution is clear. Add
the content of part B (1 Ltr.) and make volume of
25 Ltrs.

P Same solution is used as replenisher solution.

-[
AUTOMATIC FILM PROCESSING

P The processing of the x ray film is entirely

done nowadays by machine, with the film
being fed in at one end and received,
processed & dried at the other.
P Film is transported through various chambers
of automatic processor by roller system.

-
TRANSPORT SYSTEM COMPONENT
P Feed Tray
P Rollers (Different Assemblies):
1. Entrance
2. Deep Racks
3. Turnaround
4. Crossover
5. Squeegee
6. Dryer
P Receiving Bin

-‰
$ !  * M  
  !!"


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÷
 ! ÷%

 


-D
PROCESSOR (TOP VIEW)

ÿ

CONSTITUENTS OF DEVELOPING
SOLUTION

P The developing solution used in automatic

processor are different in several important
respect for those used for manual
processing.
P The description which follows is based on
the solutions used in automatic processing
are :

ÿ
 Ú
•
P Replenisher and starter solutions :
P The solution which is fed into the developing section of an
automatic processor when it is actively processing films is
known as developing replenisher. It is the developing solutions
used, in x ray department. When a processor has been drained
of its chemicals, perhaps during cleaning or servicing, the
developer replenisher in the developing section of the
processor has extra ingredients added in the form of a starter
solution, to modify its activity until a number of films have
been processed and the developer activity has settled down.

P Manual processing does not use a developer starter.

ÿ½
DEVELOPER §
  §


P A typical Developer usually contains following
constituents :
1. Developing agent
2. Accelerator
3. Restrainer
4. Preservatives
5. ?ardener
6. Buffer
7. Sequesting agent
8. Solvent

ÿ£
DEVELOPING AGENT
P Modernx ray developers use a
combinations of two developing agents:
?ydroquinone and phenidone / metol.

A combinations of phenidone
hydroquinone(PQ) is used.

ÿ-
?YDRQUINONE

1,4-Benzenediol [C6?4(O?)2], also called

Quinol.
White crystalline substance.
Discovered in 1880 .
Needs strong alkaline medium to react
Produce high contrast.
Selective between exposed and unexposed
grains.

ÿÿ
METOL
P P-methyl aminophenol (C?3N?.C6?4O? )
White crystalline substance
Discovered in 1891
Rapidly acting
Produce low contrast
Unselective between exposed and unexposed grains
Restrained by increased presence of Br -

ÿ[
P?ENIDON
P 1-phenyl-3pyrazolidone,introduced by Ilford Ltd
in 1940
Properties very similar to those of Metol
Rapidly acting
Produce low contrast
Unselective between exposed and unexposed grains
V
VV
 

Activity does not diminish in presence of increased

concentration of Br ±
10 ± 15 times more effective than Metol
Long working life.

ÿ
SUPERADDITIVITY
P If only Metol/Phenidone(Mor !) or
?ydroquinone(1) is used alone, result will either be
very fast development with high density & contrast
or exactly its opposite. ?ence M and 1 are used
together to produce adequate result. This phenomena
is called 2( (  
P When Metol and ?ydroquinone are used in
combination, it is called M1 Developer and when
Phenidone is used with ?ydroquinone, it is called
!1 Developer
P Presently !1is the combination of choice

ÿ‰
ADVANTAGES OF SUPERADDITIVITY

P Q produces very high contrast ,but M or P produces

very low contrast, but PQ or MQ produces adequate
contrast
P P or M start action readily but their activity drops
down pretty quickly, whereas Q starts slow and can¶t
produce very good density alone unless kept in the
soln for very long. But MQ and PQ produce
adequate contrast and density
P Unless used in combination, these chemicals can¶t
produce required grey scale details

ÿD
ACCELERATOR

P Developing agents function in high alkaline

medium (p? 10-11.5) Generally Potassium
Carbonate and Potassium ?ydroxide are used.
Sodium Carbonate and sodium ?ydroxide are
often used in combination.
P Potassium compounds are preferred because of
their higher solubility but at the same time they
are costlier

[

RESTRAINER
P Restrainer is used to check the over-action of the
developing agents.
P It increases the selectivity of the developing agents
between the exposed and unexposed grains by
forming a negative barrier around the grains.

P As Phenidone is not so much affected by Br ion

concentration,Benzotriazole is used as an organic
antifoggant in PQ Combination.

[
PRESERVATIVE
P Developing agents are reducers, hence they tend
to get oxidized by the action of the chemicals
and aerial oxidation.
First step of oxidation produces sulphonates.
These sulphonates further accelerate the rate of
oxidation.
Sod . Sulphite( Na)SO0) / Pot . Sulphite(K)SO0) are
used as preservative to check the action of these
sulphonates to slow down the final stage of oxidation.

[½
?ARDNER

The gelatin in a film emulsion swells & softens

when it absorbs water. In an automatic processor,
excessive swelling must be prevented in order that
the film can be transported successfully, without
jamming or being damaged by the roller mechanism.
Swelling is minimized by a pre-hardening process
during film manufacturing and by«

[£
 Contd«.

P the inclusion of a hardener in the developer . A

powerful organic hardener, such as
glutaraldehyde is used.

P Developers formulated for manual processing

may not include a hardening agent.

[-
BUFFER
P Buffers are used to maintain the p?.
These are pairs of strong and weak alkali. The
presence of buffering agents in developing
solution prevents the undesirable effects of
changes in p? due to aerial oxidation of
developer and acidic by-products of
development process. Normally adequate«

[ÿ
 Contd«.
P buffering action is provided by carbonates
used as accelerator and the sulphites acting as
preservatives.
P Thus, no additional buffering chemicals are
necessary in most developing solutions.

[[
SEQUESTING AGENT
P Sequesting agents are chemicals which prevent
the precipitation of insoluble mineral salts.
P They act by combining with the minerals to form
soluble compounds which do not react with the
developing chemicals .
P EDTA ( ethylene ± diamine tetra-acetic acid) are
commonly included in developer for this
purpose.

[
SOLVENT
P Water    

•
 
    
  

 
  
     
 


     

   

  

      



 


  

 

   


     
 
•

[‰
Other constituents of developer
solution
P In addition to the eight constituents
replenisher also contain Bactericides &
fungicides to inhibit the growth of organism
in solution. Such organisms can lead to
unpleasant effect such as formation of slimy
coating on the walls of developer tank.

[D
STARTER SOLUTION
P Starter solution is basically an acidic restrainer
when added to developer replenisher , it reduces
the p? to its normal working value and it
provides a supply of potassium bromide
restrainer

P Dev. replenisher +Dev. starter=Working dev.

REPLENIS?MENT

P This soln is used to top-up and rejuvenate

exhausted Dev.Soln
Constituents are the same only restrainer
is lacking.


ACTION OF SQUEEGING ROLLER

P Rinsing or stop bath process is not used in

automatic processing bcz with the help of
squeeging rollers remaining dev. Solution is
removed.

½
FIXING
P When a film is exposed and developed, some of
the Silver halide converted to metallic silver but
rest remain there to give the film an opaque look.
These remaining Silver halide has to be removed
to give the film a clear appearance.
P In the fixing stage remaining Silver halide are
removed.
P The image becomes permanent by chemical
treatment.

£
COSTITUENTS OF FIXING SOLUTION

P Fixing agent
P Acid
P Buffer
P ?ardener
P Preservative
P Anti sludging agent
P Solvent

-
FIXING AGENT
P A fixing agent as a chemical which combines
with the largely insoluble silver halides (bromide
or iodide) in the film emulsion to form the
soluble compounds which can diffuse and be
washed out of the emulsion.
P Fixing agent used in radiography processing is
ammonium thiosulphate & sodium thiosulphate.

P Ammonium thiosulphate is used in automatic

processing.
P Sodium thiosulphate is used in manual
processing.

ÿ
 Contd«.

P Advantage of ammonium thiosulphate over

alternative fixing agents:
P 1. ?igh solubility.
P 2. ?igh activity, thus fixing can be accomplished
rapidly eg. 15 s in a 90 s processing cycle.

[
ACID
P Fixing bath is acidic in nature (p? 4.0-5.0)
because
Fixing agents act only in acidic environment.
This much low p? stops the action of developer
completely.
Acetic acid (C?3COO?) is the acid of choice.
*A strong acid¶ll decompose thiosulphate and
insoluble sulphur deposit¶ll appear.
BUFFER
P p? of fixer is important in order to:
P 1.Prevent sulphurization.
P 2. Ensure nutralization.
P 3. Maintain optimum hardener activity.

 Sodium acetate is used as buffer in

conjuction with the acetic acid.

‰
?ARDNER
P ?ardener prevents the emulsion from peeling esp.
in the warm bath of auto- processor, it also helps in
quick drying

It reduces drying time.

It prevents physical damage (eg. Scratches) to
the emulsion surface.

Aluminium chloride and Aluminium sulphate

are used as a hardner.

D
PRESERVATIVE

P The preservative in fixer retards the

decomposition of thiosulphate and thus delays
the onset of sulphurization. It¶s presence is
particularly in liquid concentrates.

 Sodium sulphite is commonly used.

‰

ANTI SLUDGE

P Sludge is a complex precipitation which appear

when the p? is too high.

Boric acid (?3BO3) is used as antisludging agent.

It reduces the formation of sludge which adhere to
the film & to the walls of fixing tank.

‰
SOLVENT
P Water is the solvent and diluent used in fixing
solution it acts as a carrying medium in which
the fixer constituents are dissolved
P It has a softening effect on the film emulsion
gelatin , thus allowing the fixing chemicals to
penetrate the emulsion and act on the silver
halides .

‰½
 Contd....

P The water used for developer solution must be

clean and free from insoluble deposits, such as
grit or rust particles, which could scratch the
delicate film emulsion or damage the
processing equipment

‰£
WAS?ING
P When film leaves the fixing tank its emulsion is
saturated with fixing solution contaminated
with silver complexes and ammonium halides.
If such chemicals are not removed, the
emulsion will gradually develop a yellow brown
sulphur stains.
P To avoid such effects the film is passed through
a washing stage.
P Tap water is a satisfactory washing medium for
automatic processor.

‰-
FIXER RETENSION (NOT WAS?ED OFF)

‰ÿ
DRYING
P The final stage in the processing of radiograph
is to remove all of the surface water and most
of that retained in it¶s emulsion.
P Dust free hot air is blown on the surface of
film.
P The temperature of this hot air is usually
around 55*c.

‰[
3 M
!
 $"

÷
  &! 

   
 

 ÿ • £½
 
 ÿ • £½

 ½- • ÿ 
1!'("(( $ "!)*! '
!! $ (!! $!+!

‰
MAINTAINACE OF AUTOMATIC
PROCESSOR
P DAILY MAINTAINANCE:
P 1. Remove cross-over roller assemblies or guide
plates. Rinse under warm running water (38*c).
Wipe dry. Do not use the same cloth for developer
& fixer.
P 2. Wipe down the entry rollers with a damp cloth.
Wipe dry.
P 3. Wipe off all chemical deposits in the processing
section.

‰‰
 Contd«
P 4. wipe all top rollers above solution level.

P WEEKLY MAINTAINANCE:
P 1. Repeat the daily cleaning programme.
P 2. Put splashguard b/w the develper & fixer
tanks to prevent contamination. Rinse and
wipe with cloth using a different cloth for
developer and fixer.

‰D
 Contd«.
P 3. Operate each rack manually to check tension on
chains/ gears, that they move freely, and that all
rollers rotate correctly.
P 4. Re-install racks, being very careful.
P 5.Replace cross-over assemblies. Check each
component is correctly positioned.
P 6.Remove drier section air tubes and clean
vigorous agitation in warm water.
P 7.Clean drier rollers with a damp cloth.

D

 Contd«.
P MONT?LY MAINTAINANCE:

P 1.Carry out weekly and daily maintainance.

P 2. Drain main tanks and clean with sponge and running
water.
P 3. Close drain valves.
P 4. Fill both developer & fixer tanks with water, replace
processor cover & switch on mains power and
processor on switch. This activates the solution
circulation pumps & flushes the system through with
water.

D
 Contd«.

P 5. Turn off the processor & mains isolator.

Remove the processor lid.
P 6.Drain tanks & refill with fresh chemistry.

D½
 DAY LIG?TFILM PROCESSING
P A system in which automatically cassette
unloading, film processing and reloading of
cassette with fresh film is done without any need
of safe lights. In this system very less chances of
film handling marks which may develop in
manual processing. Such automatic film handling
systems are commonly called µday light system¶,
because all film manupulation is done without
need of darkroom.

D£
 Contd«.
P Two types of daylight systems are :
1. Composite or Complete type
2. Modular or Integrated type
P Composite type: The word composit
means that all the system¶s components i.e.
film supply magazine or dispenser, film
unloading machinery and processor are placed
combined in one place.

D-
 Contd«.
P In this system a cassette containing film for
processing is inserted at front of the unit & door
of system is automatically closed. A bar code
(attached to every cassette) is read by the loader
microprocessor, in order to identify the size of the
cassette.
P Inside the unit cassette is automatically opened &
film is extracted by means of suction cups. The
identity of the patient is photographed on film by
prism or lens system.

Dÿ
 Contd«.
P Now film is transported through roller system
into processor. Then, film loading carriage or
sled moves into position beneath the appropriate
film magazine dispenser, then film is released by
dispenser into empty cassette.
P After receiving film cassette closed, the front
door of the unit opens & processed film goes to
film bin.
P The entire unloading & reloading sequence
takes only 15 sec

D[
 Contd«.

 Modular daylight system: In this

type of system the cassette loading
equipment i.e. film dispenser is separated
from the automatic processor.
 The automatic processor may be centrally
located & film dispenser may be sited in
or near the imaging room.

D
 Contd«.
P Film dispenser: A film dispenser consists of an
upper film storage & dispensing section & a
lower cassette loading section.

P In this unit a cassette is placed in front of the unit

pushing forwards which activates the loading
cycle mechanism. The cassette is driven up
towards the film storage area. Then , two metal
pins enter the cassette frame on either side of the

D‰
 Contd«.
Film aperture, causing a spring loaded flap
to open. Then, the film from dispenser is
released & received by cassette. Now, the
cassette is lowered away so that metal pins
disingage & cassette flap springs shut,
safely protected the film from any light.

DD
ADVANTAGE OF DAYLIG?T SYSTEM
OVER CONVENTIONAL TYPE
P Faster film handling.
P Fewer film handling marks.
P Less space requirement for processing
procedure.
P More time can be spent with patient instead of
film handling activities.
P Greater patient throughput bcz of faster film
handling.




 ADVANCEMENTS IN FILM
PROCESSING

P Introduction: Laser imagers also known as

laser cameras, Laser printers or hard copy
cameras, have become the state of art equipment
for recording images in digital radiography,
computed tomography(CT scan), Magnetic
resonance & imaging (MRI), Ultrasound(US).



 Contd«.
P There are two major types of Laser imagers used to
create hard copy images from digital data on
radiographic films: Wet Laser imagers and Dry
Laser imagers.
P In wet Laser imagers, liquids are used to process the
films through four steps: developing, fixing, washing
and drying. The liquid chemicals are expensive,
produce hazardous waste and require a water supply
and drainage facilities. The introduction of dry Laser
imagers in 1996 eliminated the use of liquid
chemical processing.


½
 Contd«.
P Modern dry Laser imagers can produce images
with an almost continuous gray scale, as do
conventional wet Laser imagers.
P Because dry processor Laser imagers eliminate the
need for liquid chemicals, they are easy to set up
anywhere in the hospital and easy to connect to the
computer network. Moreover, dry Laser imager
have an automatic quality control program built
into the system and thus eliminate the need to
perform daily sensitometry.


£
 FILM MATERIAL:
P The films used in dry and wet Laser imagers are
of blue base films respectively on which a silver
grain emulsion is coated to produce a visible
image.
P Whereas , the wet Laser films contain
conventional silver halide crystal so , they require
the use of wet chemical processing, and the dry
Laser films are based on silver behenate, used in
microfilms and are infrared sensitive
photothermography film.


-
WORKING OF WETLASER IMAGER
P The following sequence occurs each time when the
operator issues a print command:
P 1. In the wet Laser imager, the film is taken out of
the supply cartridge.
P 2. Then film is exposed with Laser beam in a Z
pattern.
P 3. After exposure, the film goes through a
conventional development, fixation , washing &
drying procedure.
P 4.After this film is delivered at the receiving tray.


ÿ
WET LASER IMAGER


[
WORKING OF DRY LASER IMAGER

P The operator acquire the images from the image

source device, which is stored on a hard disc in the
imager for printing on the film. The following
sequence occurs each time when the operator issues
a print command:
P 1. Suction cups lit a single sheet of a film out of the
supply cartridge and route it into the film feed
roller.
P 2. The film feed rollers move the film down to the
platen rollers, which drive the film into the
exposure module platen.



 Contd«.
P 3. A moving Laser beam writes the image on to the
film, which is held stationary in the platen.
P 4. The platen rollers reverse the direction and move
the exposed film up through the vertical transport
area.
P 5. Transport rollers drive the film on to the processor
drum.
P 6. The heated processor drum develops the film
(convert into visible image) as it passes over the drum.
The film is developed by heating it to approximately
at 120*c for 15 sec.


‰
 Contd«.

P 7. In this Laser imager, an infrared Laser diode

records an image on the film , then a heating unit
develops it and a densitometer scan, a self-
generated test film to keep the density and
contrast at present values.


D
DRY LASER IMAGER



 ADVANTAGE
P Dry view Laser imaging film delivers diagnostic
quality, continuous tone images along with sharp
alphanumeric and optimum contrast with no image
quality variability due to wet chemistry.
P The principle advantage of this latest technology lies
in the fact that no wet chemical processing is
required and is able to produce high quality film
images without the need of an associated automatic
processor as well as darkroom procedures with
minimum impact on the enviornment.


 REFERANCE
 Radiographic photography , Chesney
 Journal on Manual of Darkroom
technique(World ?ealth Organization)
 Journal of IART sept. 2003
 www.google.com

½
£