Jonathan SteelePACSESS North America

Future of NDT Radiographic Imaging:

• Digital Imaging Fundamentals – not same as film

• Digital Standards

• Research Qualified Digital Systems

• Digital System Performance Baselining & Monitoring

• Image Quality Measures

• Computer Literacy

• Digital User Interface

Digital Imaging: Knowledge to go Filmless

• Preserved Metadata

• Adjust Brightness / Contrast

• Apply Magnification

• Apply Image Processing

• Apply Measurements, Calculations,

• Obtain Statistics

• Apply Annotations

• Include Stamps

$ Saves inspection time / consumable cost – improves productivity

What’s great about digital?

What is a digital image?

Analog ImageDigital Image

Filmless

• Photography

• Medical/Dental

Still Primarily Film

• Non Destructive Testing

- A matter of “time”

Warehouses of film……

$ Reducing consumables & re‐working - eliminates chemical

disposal and film storage costs- improves image evaluation -

share/store files…

Crossing From Film to Digital

How Do You Explain……

• An entire industry converting 100% from film

to digital (filmless in North America, Japan,

Norway, etc….)

• Converting from film to digital radiography

1995-2015

An Industry transitioning

FROM: FILM-BASED workflow….

TO: Digital Radiography workflow

• DR/CR/ Focus: Acquiring digital images

• What about comparing film images to digital…?

Digital Imaging Business Case:

Medical imaging had a problem…

.

…the “Film Problem”

Business Case: MEDICAL Imaging

Compatibility Issue:

- Medical Imaging Workflow -

• Comparing Prior films to digital images

• Light box/Film vs. Digital image

• Workflow process: Matching film to digital Imaging software

Reality check: Incompatible formats

Business Case: MEDICAL Imaging

SOLUTION:

1. 1993: DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine)

2. Hospital administrators: Included Film digitizers with DR/CR

• Solution to digital imaging workflow

• Result: Medical industry - Filmless

• Lesson:

Business Case: Medical Imaging

Digital Imaging: Non Destructive Testing

INSPECTIONS INDUSTRY

• Digital Radiography (DR)

• Computed Radiography (CR)

• Computed Tomography (CT)

Industrial film sales growth

• NDT Converting Film to Digital……..

• Industrial Film incompatible with CR/DR/CT

NDT Inspection Services

Digital Imaging: NDT

• Converting/Comparing/Evaluating film to CR/DR/CT files

• Level II / III time-limited

• Light box Vs. digital = incompatible

• Visual quality/consistency issues

• Staff requirements to handle film

NDT: Inspection Services Workflow

NDT Business Case: Crossing To Digital

• Film digitizing is integral to digital workflow compatibility

• NOT a secondary accessory (compatibility lesson)

• Affordable

• Digital metadata preserved

• Archived / indexed / accessable

• DICONDE file format

• DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine)

1993: Medical imaging and archiving standard established

• DICONDE (Digital Imaging and Communications for Non-

Destructive Evaluation)

2004: ASTM established NDT imaging and archiving standard

NDT Digital Imaging: * DICONDE *

NDT Film Digitizer

• Creates compatibility with DR/CR/CT

Single DICONDE file format

Digital Imaging: Film Digitizer’s Role

BRIDGING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE

• LESSON:MEDICAL film digitizers + DICOM = Compatibility

• NDT Digital Market: Computed Radiography, Digital Radiography, Computed tomography (CR/DR/CT)

• Cross via bridge of trust: Digitizing film

• Compatibility Path: X-ray film – digitized, DICONDE