Photo Nukes -- A PhotoCd Collection of Correlated Nuclear Medicine Images

• Imaging studies performed in the hospital captured on film (transparencies) e.g., x-rays, CT scans, MRI, ultrasound.

• Books, Journals, etc.

Of these, images from actual patient studies are preferred because:

• They are true "originals."

• Permission for use is not typically required as long as patient confidentially is respected.

Before discussing image capture from these two sources, we must recognize a fundamental difference:

• A transparency requires a light source behind the film. We use transmitted light

  to read an x-ray.

• Printed material (books, journals, etc.) requires a light source in front of it. We use reflected light to read a book.

Here's What Works -- for FILM:

1. Use any VIDEO CAPTURE device to digitize the transparency.
   • You will need a video camera
     • I use a black and white Panasonic WV 1410 CCTV camera with a Fujinon TV zoom lens.

   • A light source to place behind the film -- I use an inexpensive copystand arrangement. A view box containing fluorescent lights is at the base while the camera is attached to the pole. The film to be digitized lies on top of the view box.

   • A internal or external digitizing board or device -- I generally use the GVP IV24 board which I have in my A2000. I have also used Digiview (NewTek) and

     FrameGrabber 256 (PP&S).

2. Use a flatbed SCANNER with a TRANSPARENCY adapter.
   • With a transparency adapter, the light comes from above.
     • The adapter previously available for the Epson ES-800C confined the scan area to 4"x6" thus limiting the size of the image that could be digitized.

     • The newer transparency units can now scan 81/2" x 11" film -- ideal for x-rays!

     • Elastic Reality has a software module for ADPro that controls both the Epson scanner and its transparency adapter.

3. Make a PHOTOCD.
   • Use a 35 mm. camera attached to a copystand to make slides of the x-rays, CT scans etc.

   • Have Kodak or other professional photographic service bureau make a CD ROM from these slides.

   • The resulting format will be a PhotoCD.

There are pluses and minus for each approach.

1. VIDEO CAPTURE is fast, easy, inexpensive and capable of exceptionally high resolution if you focus on a very small area of the image. Limitations relate to the camera, lens, and color separation, video board quality, etc.

2. A SCANNER with a TRANSPARENCY adapter is costly and there may be scan area limitations as well. It is, however, fast, compact, convenient, reproducible and reliable.

3. A PHOTOCD produces high quality images in several resolutions. It is relatively inexpensive (less than $2.00 per image), and convenient. Most radiologists have tons of slides from which they could create countless PhotoCD's with no more effort than that required to walk to their local photo store. The downside is that you must wait for the PhotoCD to be made and it may not be available everywhere.
   • PhotoCD's are a fascinating topic in their own right.

Photo Nukes

1. Because image quality, rather than time, was the primary factor, I decided to use the PhotoCD method to archive my nuclear medicine teaching file. This required a total of 5 PhotoCD disks, each containing 80-100 images.
   • Ultimately, I intend to use these images as part of an electronic teaching file.

2. For radiology images used on my web site, I have chosen to use the VIDEO CAPTURE method with Panasonic black&white video camera and the GVP IV24 board. Here, my decision was based on speed and convenience.

3. I used PhotoWorx to display individual images.

   PhotoWorx can also --

   • Convert color to grey.
   • Flip images horizontal or vertical.
   • Crop image.
   • Multiple image display.
   • Save image in any of several formats.

4. AsimCDFS 3.0 (Asimware) will display all the thumbnail images

   on a PhotoCD, which it then copies (buffers) to a hard drive for rapid re-display.

   • It may be that the as yet unreleased PhotoManager from Asimware will provide these and other functions.

Some final thoughts.

• You may wish to know more about some of the image capture devices discussed above.

• You may also be interested in knowing about other approaches to medical image acquisition that do not work as well -- at least for now.

• You may also wish to know how images published in books and journals can be digitized.

• You may even want one day to (ahem) digitize yourself!

• You may wish to read an update on image capture that I wrote in June, 1997.

revised -- December

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