Objective performance characteristics of a new asymmetric screen-film system.

A study of the objective imaging characteristics of a new asymmetric screen-film system is presented herein. The system is characterized by high x-ray absorption asymmetric screens, and a low-noise, high-contrast asymmetric film having near-zero crossover. Comparisons are made with the imaging characteristics of two widely used conventional screen-film systems. Sensitometry, modulation transfer function, and noise power spectra were measured using standard methods. Granularity, noise equivalent quanta, and detective quantum efficiency were computed from these. The new screen-film system has an average gradient at lung-field densities between the two conventional systems studied, while the mediastinum contrast exceeds both conventional systems. The lung-field modulation transfer function half bandwidth of the new asymmetric system exceeds that of both conventional systems by 60%. At mid exposures the detective quantum efficiency of the new asymmetric system is comparable to those of the conventional systems studied. However, the exposure range over which detective quantum efficiency remains high is substantially wider.