Is a Camera-Type Portable X-Ray Device Clinically Feasible in Chest Imaging?: Image Quality Comparison with Chest Radiographs Taken with Traditional Mobile Digital X-Ray Devices.

PURPOSE: To evaluate whether the image quality of chest radiographs obtained using a camera-type portable X-ray device is appropriate for clinical practice by comparing them with traditional mobile digital X-ray devices.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eighty-six patients who visited our emergency department and underwent endotracheal intubation, central venous catheterization, or nasogastric tube insertion were included in the study. Two radiologists scored images captured with traditional mobile devices before insertion and those captured with camera-type devices after insertion. Identification of the inserted instruments was evaluated on a 5-point scale, and the overall image quality was evaluated on a total of 20 points scale.

RESULTS: The identification score of the instruments was 4.67 ± 0.71. The overall image quality score was 19.70 ± 0.72 and 15.02 ± 3.31 ( p < 0.001) for the mobile and camera-type devices, respectively. The scores of the camera-type device were significantly lower than those of the mobile device in terms of the detailed items of respiratory motion artifacts, trachea and bronchus, pulmonary vessels, posterior cardiac blood vessels, thoracic intervertebral disc space, subdiaphragmatic vessels, and diaphragm ( p = 0.013 for the item of diaphragm, p < 0.001 for the other detailed items).

CONCLUSION: Although caution is required for general diagnostic purposes as image quality degrades, a camera-type device can be used to evaluate the inserted instruments in chest radiographs.