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An Overview of IDC Xplorer Technology An independent report of IDC technology by Dr. J. Anthony Siebert, Professor of Radiology at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento concluded: "The current IDC Detector is a very robust system and can compete equally or exceed other digital detector performance levels (including CR and flat panel DR)." ( Scroll to the bottom of this page for Siebert's report and more information). IDC's patented DR system uses one very high density Charge Coupled Device or VHD CCD. It's the "film" in the digital system and it's proven, reliable technology ( NASA uses a similar system in the Hubble Telescope to capture images from the farthest reaches of space) . IDC's single CCD detector has more than 16 million pixels digitized at 14 bits per pixel, creating an excellent dynamic range of 16,384 shades of gray. At 70% DQE, IDC's Detective Quantum Efficiency captures a superior image with a lower dose. 100% fill factor in each pixel means there is maximum efficiency and lower radiation needed to capture the image. A feature unique to IDC is the Pixel Optimized Dose or POD which allows the dose to be adjusted from High Efficiency (HE) or to High Resolution (HR) for optimized image acquisition. The dose can be reduced by 50% in HE mode. Furthermore, spatial resolution of 4.6 lp/mm provides superior image quality and one of the highest resolution x-ray images available on the market. Computed Radiography (CR) or Digital Radiography (DR) The efficiencies of DR are well documented. It is a truly digital system with no cassettes and therefore none of the time consuming steps needed to process cassettes. Images are ready for viewing in seconds instead of minutes and DR produces excellent spatial resolution and higher quality images. The recommended list price for IDC DR compares favorably to CR and is lower than Flat Panel and other CCD DR systems. DR Technologies: CCD or Flat Panel There are two main technologies available in Digital Radiography: Charge Coupled Device (CCD) based detectors and Flat Panel (either direct or indirect capture) detectors. The IDC Xplorer use a very high density CCD (VHD CCD), a lens and a
scintillator. Light from the scintillator is deflected by a mirror into the
lens. The lens focuses light onto the 16 million pixels of the CCD. A crucial
difference between this and Flat Panel technology is IDC’s VHD CCD based
detector does not have any electronics in the radiation field. Additionally, these complex electronic devices have layers of components that are surrounded by protective casings. In order to produce these Flat Panel systems, arrays of smaller devices are tiled together which prevents an entirely seamless image. Another important difference between CCD and Flat Panel technology pertains to fill factor. IDC has 100% fill factor which means 100% of the pixel area is used. Flat Panel systems have far lower fill factors because they have electronics running through each pixel reducing the x-ray capture surface area. The higher the fill factor, the higher the resolution of the image and the lower the dose needed. IDC’s 100% fill factor provides maximum efficiency with lower radiation. The difference between CCD DR Technologies A number of DR manufacturers use CCD based technology, developing very complex systems with multiple components instead of a single CCD. Because IDC's single CCD system is much simpler, it avoids some repair and damage problems.IDC uses only one large CCD, so there is no need to align or compensate for multiple cameras focusing on different quadrants. One CCD means there is no pixel overlap and no need for special processing of the overlap areas. IDC also has a superior cooling system. Instead of using water, which requires hoses, pumps and cooling which can leak, run or drip in the detector, IDC uses a fluid free chip based cooling system.
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