What is a potential consequence of using a lower dose in digital radiography on image quality?

What is a potential consequence of using a lower dose in digital radiography on image quality?

• A. Decreased SNR
• B. Increased SNR
• C. No effect
• D. Improved spatial resolution

Answer: (A)

Lowering the dose reduces the number of photons reaching the detector, which heightens quantum noise relative to the true signal. That increase in random noise lowers the signal-to-noise ratio, making the image grainier and potentially obscuring fine details. Spatial resolution isn’t directly improved by lower dose—it's mainly determined by detector and geometric factors—so you wouldn’t expect it to improve with less dose. In short, a potential consequence of using a lower dose is decreased SNR.

Lowering the dose reduces the number of photons reaching the detector, which heightens quantum noise relative to the true signal. That increase in random noise lowers the signal-to-noise ratio, making the image grainier and potentially obscuring fine details. Spatial resolution isn’t directly improved by lower dose—it's mainly determined by detector and geometric factors—so you wouldn’t expect it to improve with less dose. In short, a potential consequence of using a lower dose is decreased SNR.