What is the image quality and sensitivity of a-Si flat panel radiography compared to traditional film?
A-Si flat panels detectors can be more sensitive than traditional X-ray film by a factor of 10 to 100 times, therefore dramatically requiring much less exposure time when taking an image with a-Si flat panel detector! For example: when using a commercial pulsed 150kV or 270kV source, an entire image can be achieved with only one pulse, which is the equivalent to 60 nanoseconds width of exposure (a minimal amount of energy!). The detector acquisition read time and presentation of the entire image on a laptop screen will take approx. 2-5 seconds, depending on the size of detector used. Regarding dynamic range, film is quite limited to several hundred gray levels, however, bear in mind that since the human eye can see only somewhere between 60-100 gray levels, the relative sparse dynamic range of film can not be fully utilized or visualized with any ease. In comparison the a-Si flat panels detectors have a very wide dynamic range of 14 Bits or 16,384 gray levels. By using the automatic or
