An evaluation of different imaging chains in clinical chest radiography.

Six imaging techniques in clinical chest radiography have been evaluated: four film-screen combinations in the conventional grid technique and two combinations in the air gap technique. Five parameters characterising the quality of a chest radiograph were evaluated by three radiologists and one chest physician by using a nominal grading scale from -2 to +2 compared with the standard technique. The quality parameters judged were: the visibility of peripheral lung vessels, lung parenchyme, the pulmonary hilum, and lung structure behind the heart shadow, as well as the visibility of miscellaneous findings of clinical interest. The air gap technique was shown to be superior to the ordinary grid technique. The diagnostic quality of chest radiography does not necessarily deteriorate with the screen speed. However, statistically significant differences were noticed, even between techniques which had equal speed and physical resolution.