"The other thing that goes in tandem with that is we used to have seven radiographers in those three X-ray rooms," says McDonald. "We've now been able to release three radiographers to go and do CT, MR and ultrasound in other departments. On an average day, the radiographers are doing 30 patients per radiographer where they used to do 17."

McDonald's scientific presentation dealt with differences in procedures between analog images, CR and DR and how to properly position and image tricky anatomy.


"What you do is, you get your textbooks and you throw them away and start from scratch," he says. "We're now imaging our elbows slightly differently and our knees slightly differently, our facial bones and our chest X-rays slightly differently. They all need a little personal tweak on them."

The art of image exposure has been transformed from a largely intuited "touch and feel" process to what is, for the most part, a touch of a button today. With the help of PACS and RIS, patient information such as exam type, weight and age are preloaded and used to capture the perfect image, or the closest thing to it.

"With this technology you don't have to worry as much about exposure and there are very few retakes with DR, a few more with CR and about 5 to 10 percent in film," says Burkhart. "Image quality is much better with DR because everything is optimized."

DR retrofits grow in popularity

An estimated 60 to 70 percent of major hospitals have purchased at least one DR system, but for those utilizing CR or analog rooms without the capital or intention of outfitting a whole new DR X-ray room, the retrofit is a more cost-effective option. If you're in the market to convert an existing analog room, or even mobile unit, good news-many major manufacturers are now offering something along these lines.

"Solutions like this are perfect for facilities that want to improve workflow and see more productivity but can't afford to replace an entire room - and they don't have to," says Heizyk. "I think the way things are in the marketplace today, folks want the ability to have very versatile and flexible solutions as well as something that's modular where they can replace just the part they need to replace this year."

Carestream's DRX-Evolution suite is a modular system of equipment intended to replace all or some of the traditional X-ray room. It includes the DRX-1 detector, a table, wall stand and console. For many, retrofitting can mean a quarter of the cost of doing a whole new room. It's a three-to-four hour install completed same day.

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