Contemporary pediatric thoracic imaging.

Abstract

children, and its high efficacy and clinical use in the pediatric intensive care setting have been recently confirmed [3]. Unfortunately, chest radiography is also one of the most challenging examinations to perform because of the wide range of tissue densities present in the thorax (especially considering the wide variety of thoracic sizes in pediatric patients), the inherently low-contrast structures of children, and the need to minimize exposure to ionizing radiation. These difficulties imaging children are further complicated by the requirement that images be acquired at peak inspiration and with minimum patient motion, a daunting task when imaging young or uncooperative children. The use of digital radiography is increasing, but the technical basis of the systems may be unfamiliar. In this section, we discuss and illustrate the most common commercial digital systems in addition to conventional radiography suitable for pediatric chest radiography. Conventional Radiography