A study of densitometry comparison among three radiographic processing solutions

ABSTRACT Background: The radiographic image accuracy depends on the X-ray film information visibility. Good visibility is found by good contrast. Radiation exposure parameters (kVp, mAs) and film processing conditions have impact on contrast. In dentistry radiography machines, exposure time and processing procedure are set by radiographer. No optimized exposure time and processing conditions may lead to incorrect diagnosis and re-exposure of the patient. Therefore, we studied the performance of the three different available processing solutions with dental X-ray film. Materials and Methods: Dental intraoral E-speed films, size 2 (Kodak company, USA) were used in this study. These films were developed in a manual processor using three different brands of processing solution: 1) Taifsaz (Iran), 2) Darutasvir (Iran) and 3) Agfa (Germany) for temperatures of 25oC, 28oC and 30oC at the three different exposure times, 0.2 s, 0.25 s and 0.35 s. Performance was evaluated with respect to base plus fog, relative contrast and relative speed. Results: Darutasvir processing solution as the cheapest one showed higher base plus fog density at 25oC and 30oC than that of Taifsaz and Agfa solutions. Also, Darutasvir solution was found to have better relative contrast than that of the others, except for 30oC at 0.25 s. Relative speed was higher in Darutsavir solution than Agfa for 25oC at three exposure times used in this study, for 28oC at 0.2 s and for 30oC at 0.35 s. Taifsaz Processing solution was in the second order with respect to tested conditions. Conclusion: Comparison among available X-ray film processing solutions for different temperatures at different exposure times can help to maintain image quality while patient exposure and film cost are kept considerably low.