A comparison of hard and soft copies processed with linear conversion and nonlinear conversion of skeletal fractures--a preliminary study.

To compare hard copies and soft copies processed with linear and nonlinear conversion of skeletal fractures, we performed a receiver-operating characteristics study of 25 digital radiographs. There was no statistical difference between hard copies with linear and nonlinear conversion. However, it may be difficult to detect small fractures on images processed by nonlinear conversion. No significant difference was seen between CRT diagnosis and that on a hard copy processed with linear conversion and frequency enhancement.