[Picture quality of a digital urogram using image enhancement radiography]

The use of digital image radiography in urographic diagnostics yields a high percentage of images that are useful in diagnosis, even at the present state of technical development which is rapidly improving. Our own results obtained in a prospective study on 75 patients supply proof of such diagnostically useful pointers. Clear improvements in demonstrating the details when employing a 28 cm image amplifier input format in place of the additionally used 40 cm are seen only with the system of the renal calices. However, we found that the 40 cm image amplifier input format proved satisfactory in respect of assessing renal contours, kidney pelvis and ureters as far as image quality was concerned. Enhance image quality can be expected in future from the use of wedge-shaped diaphragms as well as a selective influencing of the automatic exposure (several measurement chambers, weighting factors) and the transfer of monitor screen contents to hard copy without incurring any losses during transfer.