This report originally appeared in the March 2009 issue of DOTmed Business News

Digital technology is quickly becoming the norm when it comes to X-ray departments at hospitals and other medical imaging facilities, as most are turning either to computed radiography (CR), direct digital radiography (DR) or a combination of both as they transition themselves from an analog to digital environment.

Imaging centers are finding that by going digital they are improving efficiency, reducing costs, and improving safety, yet there are differences of opinion on whether CR or DR is the correct choice.



"People don't really understand the technology enough and a lot of radiology departments don't understand the differences between what one company can do over another," says Anne Ji, Supervisor, Marketing Medical Systems for Canon U.S.A., Inc. "It's hard to understand what is best for the facility. Every company will go in and say theirs is best, but how do they know? Education on this needs to be addressed and it's something that every imaging facility needs to be paying close attention to."

Many of the smaller hospitals and imaging centers prefer to go with CR, which is attractive to them because of its portability and lower ticket price compared to DR. Another big factor is that in purchasing a CR, it eliminates the cost of renovating the X-ray room or retrofitting the equipment.

The best arguments in favor of DR technology are that it facilitates higher patient throughput and provides better image quality. Those are the key reasons why many of the larger hospitals have been installing DR systems into their emergency rooms.

"It's convenience and flexibility vs. speed and quality," says Scott Burkhart, vice president, X-ray, North America for Philips Healthcare. "Right now when you go to an electronic format, it's about workflow, it's about speed. There is not another investment in the hospital today that offers that kind of return on investment in terms of efficiency. It's become a slam dunk and everyone understands that."




Yet when looking at the advancements made in both technologies over the last few years, both CR and DR continued to make significant improvements and the line of demarcation between the two is starting to blur.

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