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Study Syllabus for Classification of Radiographs of Pneumoconioses
Clinical Overview
Central Role of Diagnostic Imaging
Digital Radiography
The transition from analog to digital chest radiographs is now well advanced in the United States and most other countries, and it is increasingly difficult to obtain good quality analog chest radiographs in many locations. Advantages of digital radiography include availability of multiple identical copies of images and potential for remote reading. Potential disadvantages include the requirement for high quality monitors for image viewing and difficulty in standardizing algorithms for image acquisition and reconstruction. For these reasons, the International Labour Office has published digitized versions of its standard radiographs for use in pneumoconiosis classification of digital radiographs [International Labour Office 2011]. Digital radiographs should always be classified based on side by side comparison with these standard images. NIOSH has published detailed specifications for acquisition and processing of digital images [NIOSH 2016]. Additionally, NIOSH has made available dedicated free software (NIOSH BViewer©) to facilitate radiographic classification and comparison between worker/patient images and reference standard images.