![]() ![]() Other artifacts are more subtle and not as easily seen on a clinical image. It is important to understand the conditions under which these artifacts may be created, to either take steps to prevent their clinical appearance or foster a targeted vigilance in quality assurance during situations in which the artifact is more likely to appear. For example, the residual image of a marker, carried over to subsequent images, could lead to misinterpretation of patient laterality ( 3). This type of artifact may also affect patient care. Some artifacts may be seen clearly at retrospective viewing, but because of inattention bias ( 2), they might not be identified during normal quality assurance steps or diagnostic interpretations. In these situations, the need for response is clear, but it may be unclear how to prevent or address the issue without understanding how it was created. Examples of these types of artifacts may arise from the misidentification of the desired image field of view or from detector damage caused by dropping (“detector drop”). Some artifacts are easy to spot on a clinical image their effect may be to obscure parts of an image or to compromise the desired image field of view. Although certain artifact types may appear uniquely with flat-panel detector–based digital radiographic systems, including any artifact related to a detector gain calibration or disruption to readout circuitry, other artifacts related to image processing can be found in common with both flat-panel detector–based and computed radiography–based digital radiographic systems. The types of artifact examples presented include those related to equipment defects or disruption from an accident or mishandling, debris or gain calibration flaws, acquisition technique, and image processing issues. For organizational simplicity, artifacts are grouped according to their causal connection. However, each artifact example provided will be classified according to a type of failure mechanism in the digital radiographic imaging chain. More extensive details on how flat-panel detectors are used in digital radiographic image creation, compared with computed radiography, are provided by Lança and Silva ( 1) and will not be reviewed here. This difference can contribute to artifact types that are unique to flat-panel detector–based digital radiographic systems. ![]() The artifact examples provided were taken from clinical images as well as routine quality control testing.įlat-panel detector–based digital radiographic systems differ in their image creation mechanism from computed radiography, having an intrinsic pixel matrix and differences in signal detection and processing. The examples of artifacts are paired with their cause and resolution as a means to aid in the future identification, resolution, or prevention of digital radiographic artifacts that may affect the quality of patient care. In this article, examples of artifacts from flat-panel detector–based digital radiographic systems are presented. Specific artifacts include those that are due to flat-panel detector drops, backscatter, debris in the x-ray field during calibration, detector saturation or underexposure, or collimation detection errors, as well as a variety of artifacts that are processing induced.Īn artifact on an image is a feature that does not correlate with the physical properties of the subject being imaged and may confound or obscure interpretation of that image. The examples of artifacts provided are classified according to their causal connection in the imaging chain, including an equipment defect as a result of an accident or mishandling, debris or gain calibration flaws, a problematic acquisition technique, signal transmission failures, and image processing issues. ![]() The examples are meant to serve as learning tools for future identification and troubleshooting of artifacts and as a reminder for steps that can be taken for prevention. Examples are provided of artifacts that were found on clinical images or during quality control testing with flat-panel detectors. Because the mechanism for image creation is different between flat-panel detectors and computed radiography, the causes and appearances of some artifacts can be unique to these different modalities. Visual familiarity with the variety of digital radiographic artifacts is needed to identify, resolve, or prevent image artifacts from creating issues with patient imaging. ![]()
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