[Digital luminescence radiography. A new method of study in thoracic diagnosis at the intensive care unit].

The digital luminescence-radiography (DLR) technique relies on a complete digitalization of the X-ray image. Luminescence crystals on the imaging plate serve as an energy reservoir following their exposure to ionized radiation from any conventional X-ray source. A Helium-Neon laser stimulates the electrons in their high energy bands and therefore will be dropped back emitting luminescence. This luminescence is digitized by the DLR-System thus delivering a complete digital image to the image processor for subsequent processing and evaluation. The processed digital image is then recorded on a conventional film or a monitor screen. More than 3000 chest examinations using DLR have been performed on intensive care unit (ICU) patients at the University Hospital Eppendorf following the first eleven months since the clinical introduction of this new technique. The positive aspects of DLR such as high-contrast resolution and optimal reproducibility were clinically evaluated under ICU conditions. It was shown that DLR greatly improves the quality of the chest X-rays of all ICU patients and offers the following advantages: reproducibility, lateral chest projection, no insufficient exposure, reduction of exposure dose, electronical post-processing and storage, quality preserving digital storage and copying.