The thin, active layer within a CR cassette stores which of the following?

The thin, active layer within a CR cassette stores which of the following?

• A. Manifest image
• B. Patient's metadata
• C. Exam's metadata
• D. Latent image

Answer: (D)

In computed radiography, the imaging plate contains a photostimulable phosphor layer that holds the exposure pattern. When X-rays strike this layer, energy is trapped in the phosphor centers, creating a pattern that represents the exposure but isn’t yet visible—the latent image. Later, the plate is read by a laser in the CR reader, which stimulates the trapped electrons to release their energy as light. This released light is then detected and processed to form the visible, digital image—the manifest image. Data about the patient or exam are not stored in the plate itself; they reside in the hospital’s data systems (DICOM), not in the cassette. So the thin active layer stores the latent image.

In computed radiography, the imaging plate contains a photostimulable phosphor layer that holds the exposure pattern. When X-rays strike this layer, energy is trapped in the phosphor centers, creating a pattern that represents the exposure but isn’t yet visible—the latent image. Later, the plate is read by a laser in the CR reader, which stimulates the trapped electrons to release their energy as light. This released light is then detected and processed to form the visible, digital image—the manifest image. Data about the patient or exam are not stored in the plate itself; they reside in the hospital’s data systems (DICOM), not in the cassette. So the thin active layer stores the latent image.