Amorphous Semiconductors Usher in Digital X‐Ray Imaging

Unlike other major medical imaging methods, such as computed tomography, ultrasound, nuclear medicine and magnetic resonance imaging—all of which are digital—conventional x‐ray imaging remains a largely analog technology. Making the transition from analog to digital could bring several advantages to x‐ray imaging: Contrast and other aspects of image quality could be improved by means of image processing; radiological images could be compared more easily with those obtained from other imaging modalities; the electronic distribution of images within hospitals would make remote access and archiving possible; highly qualified personnel could service remote or poorly populated regions from a central facility by means of “teleradiology”; and radiologists could use computers more effectively to help with diagnosis—work that has already been initiated at the University of Chicago by Kunio Doi and his coworkers.