For patients with conditions ranging from neck injury to lung disease, dynamic digital radiography (DDR) can enable a more comprehensive diagnosis — with comparable radiation dose — by depicting movement within the body.
DDR takes a series of still images at a very high speed, combining them to create a cine loop, or video, that provides visualization of the dynamic relationship of anatomical structures in a diagnostic-quality view.
For Neill Wright, MD, specializing in neurosurgery at Blessing Health System based in Quincy, IL, this capability helps physicians to better evaluate patients with injuries to the cervical spine.
Wright
Blessing employs the KDR®; Advanced U-Arm, a fully automated digital radiography system from Konica Minolta that can be used for all standard X-ray studies as well. Motion quantification is possible with Konica Minolta's advanced image processing.
"There are limitations with static X-rays, as we may not get a very accurate picture of what their neck is doing in motion," Dr. Wright explained. "In patients complaining of significant neck pain where all traditional imaging has failed to show any problems, we are seeing with DDR what was not otherwise diagnosed," he said.
The team at Blessing has found that DDR can help reduce the need for additional or more expensive imaging tests, such as MR or CT, and can be incorporated as part of a typical radiographic workup.
"Before the Blessing Health Center offered DDR, some patients either were not getting imaging for their conditions, or traveled hundreds of miles for a similar, but more costly imaging (study) that exposed them to a higher level of radiation dose," said Maureen Kahn, RN, MHA, MSN, president and chief executive officer. "Now, these patients and their doctors have an alternative that provides even better image quality, is less harmful, less expensive and is close to their home," she said.
Singh
Radiologists at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) have also added Konica Minolta's DDR to their imaging repertoire. The team has found DDR useful to observe the motion of the lungs and diaphragm, to better analyze and diagnose pulmonary conditions including suspected lung nodules, COPD, and interstitial lung disease.
"DDR allows physicians to see what has not been seen before with static medical radiographic imaging and provides immediate dynamic information, which helps improve the quality and specificity of diagnosis," said Satinder Singh, MD, chief of cardiopulmonary radiology at UAB. "This single technology provides more information with one test, thereby reducing health care costs and radiation exposure to the patient," Dr. Singh noted.
Konica Minolta Healthcare Americas, Inc. will demonstrate DDR capabilities at Booth 6916 at RSNA 2021. See a virtual demonstration at www.Kmhealthcarevirtual.com.
