Possible Changes/Expansions in Technology

Bragg, Murray and Tripp (1997) state that the new millennium could see increased use of computer radiography. According to the authors, the film quality is superb, and the learning curve for radiologists to adapt to the added noise from anatomic structures on radiographs is short.

The inherent film latitude and flexibility is also said to add a new dimension to interpretation and film management. However, one problem that may limit the use of computer radiography is costs which are significantly greater than for traditional film-screen systems.

Another problem that may have to be resolved before computer radiography is really ready for the new millennium is networking. The manipulation and transfer of images without loss of data is difficult resulting in unique image artifacts and the need for new parameters to judge the quality of an image. Another problem area, according to Bragg, Murray and Tripp (1997) will be radiation dose as often certain examinations using computer radiography actually require more radiation exposure than traditional film-screen techniques.

With respect to costs, Seeger (1998) reports that an area in which radiography is going to see many changes is in the availability of systems for direct digital radiography which

Thurmond, A.S. (1997). Women's imaging fellowships: Development and future. Abdominal Imaging, 22(6), 551-556.

(5) An expansion of the radiographer's role in psychiatry, especially in the area of discovering the neurobiology of childhood disorders;

According to Formicola (1995), radiography revealed that the skeleton exhibited abnormal changes, including bowing deformities, stunted growth, enthesopathies, and increased bone density. The pattern of the observed changes was analyzed as being less consistent with diagnoses of metaphyseal chondrodysplasias, hypophosphatasia, dietary rickets, or diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) than with X-linked hypophosphatemic rickets, which was judged to be the most likely etiological factor. This diagnosis then explained other abnormalities (exceptional elongation of the skull and bilateral absence of the lesser trochanter) displayed by other individuals from the same site.