An assessment of the usefulness of handheld X-ray devices in general radiography based on a performance evaluation experiment

Light and portable handheld X-ray devices are being used more often for diagnosis because they allow radiography procedures to be performed on patients in settings where there may not be stationary X-ray devices, such as islands or mountainous regions. In this study, the performances of handheld X-ray devices (HXD) and stationary X-ray devices (SXD) were compared to determine whether the handheld device could produce diagnostically acceptable image quality outside of hospitals, particularly during a global pandemic.

For performance evaluation, the accuracy of tube voltage, reproducibility of X-ray dose, linearity, leakage dose, and accuracy of focal spot size were obtained. The accuracy of the tube voltage and the reproducibility and linearity of the X-ray dose were measured to reduce the frequency of patient reimaging as a performance evaluation of the devices.

After conducting various experiments, it was found that the percentage average error (PAE) value of the tube voltage was -0.01% for the HXD, and the error of the tube voltage was 0.01% for the SXD, which is lower than the standard 10%. Additionally, when using an HXD according to these standards, medical staff is considered safe from exposure to leakage dose because the leakage dose is 0.26 mSv/year without the use of a partition.

Our results provide evidence that images of appropriate quality can be taken with an HXD, offering comparable diagnostic value. It was concluded that the leakage radiation dose would be safe at 0.26 mSv/year without using a radiation shielding partition.