Thorax Illustration.jpgApplication of field size, centering and rotation measures. A) Solid line indicates actual field size on image acquisition with the centering point determined to be the point. B) Illustration of consistent approach to measuring fourth and eighth ribs.

Background

Neonatal and newborn chest x-ray examinations are performed regularly at hospitals; thus, this examination is performed in both small local hospitals and larger specialized children's hospitals worldwide. The preterm birth rate worldwide is rising, and the premature birth rate over the last 20 years in Denmark has been slightly increasing. Over the same time period, the number of deaths within the child’s first year in the premature group has decreased. The chest x-ray is the most common examination performed in this patient group; however, it is still not an examination that every radiographer in any radiological ward does on a regular basis. The European Guidelines on quality criteria for diagnostic radiographic images in pediatrics (EG) from 1996 are still used as best practice when creating local standards. However, the EG has been internationally criticized for many years, and studies have reported the poor image quality. The literature highlights the importance of dose and image quality, but does not offer a practical solution to the problem. Some recommend more training of radiographers as an important factor to achieve high quality chest X-rays in neonates and newborns.

We have studied radiographers’ ability to perform a straight x-ray image without rotation and the capability of radiographers to visually evaluate if an image is straight or rotated.

Publications

Pedersen CCE, Hardy M, Blankholm AD. An Evaluation of Image Acquisition Techniques, Radiographic Practice, and Technical Quality in Neonatal Chest Radiography. Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences. Sept. 2018. Vol. 49; 257-264. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmir.2018.05.006

Patent application

IP Protection:
Inventors: Anne Dorte Blankholm and Christina Carøe Ejlskov Pedersen
Applicant/Owner: Central Denmark Region (in Danish: Region Midtjylland)
Title: An image alignment method

Contacts

Anne Dorte Blankholm, PhD, MSc., Radiographer. Department of Radiology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark and Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, The research programme “The acute patient” Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark. e-mail: anneblan@rm.dk

Christina Carøe Ejlskov Pedersen BSc., Radiographer. Department of Radiology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark

Research Centre for Emergency Medicine and Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University. The research programme "The acute care patient", Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark