[Standard chest x-ray: from film to all digital!]

Conventional imaging will be totally replaced by digital imaging because of the lower exposure dosage and the clear advantages in terms of image processing, transfer and storage. Reports in the literature have demonstrated that a 2.5 pl/mm spatial resolution is satisfactory to detect a pneumothorax, a parenchymal nodule or a mediastinal mass. For most authors, this resolution is also sufficient to detect an interstitial syndrome. Digitalization by amplification or by particle detectors using wire chambers are not, for the time being, acceptable for interpretation of a simple chest image because of the low spatial resolution. The selenium cylinder is an adapted technology dedicated to chest imaging. Memory display screens can be used to digitalize the entire radiology unit. They are perfectly adapted for bedside imaging. Flat detectors are based on direct or indirect conversion of the X photons into an electrical signal during the clinical evaluation. The early results appear most promising.