Digital X-Ray

What is X-Ray?

An x-ray (radiograph) is a painless medical test that helps physicians diagnose and treat medical conditions. Radiography involves exposing a part of the body to a small dose of ionizing radiation to produce pictures of the inside of the body. X-rays are the oldest and most frequently used form of medical imaging.

A bone x-ray makes images of any bone in the body, including the hand, wrist, arm, foot, ankle, knee, leg or spine.

A bone x-ray is used to:

determine whether a bone has been fractured or if a joint is dislocated.
ensure that a fracture has been properly aligned and stabilized for healing following treatment.
determine whether there is a build up of fluid in the joint or around a bone.
guide orthopedic surgery, such as spinal repair, joint replacement and fracture reductions.
evaluate injury or damage from conditions such as infection, arthritis, abnormal bone growths or other bone diseases, such as osteoporosis.
assist in the detection and diagnosis of cancer.
locate foreign objects.
evaluate changes in bones.

X-rays are a form of radiation like light or radio waves. X-rays pass through most objects, including the body. Once it is carefully aimed at the part of the body being examined, an x-ray machine produces a small burst of radiation that passes through the body, recording an image on photographic film or a special image recording plate.

Different parts of the body absorb the x-rays in varying degrees. Dense bone absorbs much of the radiation while soft tissue, such as muscle, fat and organs, allow more of the x-rays to pass through them. As a result, bones appear white on the x-ray, soft tissue shows up in shades of gray and air appears black.

X-ray images at the BAB Radiology locations are kept as a digital image that is stored electronically. These stored images are easily accessible and are sometimes compared to current x-ray images for diagnosis and disease management.