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DARKROOM PROCEDURES DURING RADIOGRAPHY Sudil Paudyal, RT THE LOADING

BENCH (Dryy bench): The dark room must always be kept clean and tidy. The chemicals used
during processing can damage the cassettes the films and even wood or concrete. On one side of
the darkroom there should be a dry workbench for films, clean film hangers, film boxes and
cassettes. The hands must be dry when working at this bench. It contains an area for loading and
unloading film holders, a cassette transfer cabinet, a film bin, compartments for cassettes and
exposure holders, storage for hangers, a wastepaper receptacle, and storage for processing
materials. Loading Area. The length of the loading bench depends on the volume of work and the
space available. The minimum length of the working surface should accommodate two 14 by 17-
inch cassettes, side by side, to permit unloading and reloading of two cassettes. Preferably, it
should be long enough to accommodate at least four 14 by 17-inch cassettes, side by side, to
preclude piling of cassettes. The working surfaces shown in figure require approximately 96
inches, exclusive of transfer cabinet and dryer space. The bench should be about 36 inches high
and 24 inches deep. A strip of one- half by one-inch molding placed lengthwise and six inches
from the back edge of the bench anchors the cassettes while they are being opened and closed
and keeps them at the front of the bench within the working area of maximum efficiency.
Unloading the cassette: Under safelights, the cassette is placed face downwards on the bench and
the locking clip is released. The cassette is then turned over and the front of the cassette is tipped
so that the film falls from the cassette well. The film is removed with the dry hand and the
cassette closed. Loading the cassettes: Under safelights the cassette is placed face downwards on
the bench and as before opened from the back. The unexposed film, lightly gripped at its edge is
lowered gently into the cassette well. The cassette is closed by bringing over the back and
engaging the locking lip. Darkroom illumination: This may be considered under two headings: 1.
Ordinary white lighting White lighting is necessary for the following tasks: Inspection and
maintenance of cassettes and screens Darkroom loading benchCleaning of work surfaces and
floors Servicing of equipment 2. Safelighting While all film materials would instantly be
fogged if exposed to white light, safelighting which is the use of dim colored lighting provides
sufficient illumination by which one can handle, manipulate and process film. Providing
exposure to such lighting is brief, no significant fogging will occur. But it is to be noted that no
safelighting is completely safe; all films will become significantly fogged if exposed to safelights
for ling enough. INTRODUCTION Image forming x-rays exit the patient and expose the
radiographic intensifying screen placed in the protective cassette. The radiographic intensifying
screen emits light, which exposes the radiographic film placed between the two screens. The
emulsion of x- ray films must be chemically processed to render visible and permanent the
information recorded in the latent image. Processing causes the silver ions in the silver halide
crystals that have been exposed to light to be converted into microscopic black grains of silver.
The processing sequence comprises the following steps: wetting, developing, rinsing in stop
bath, fixing, washing and drying. These processing steps are completed in an automatic
processor. Film processing involves a number of complex chemical reactions whose activity and
efficiency are influenced by various factors including temperature and pH of the chemical
environment in which the reactions take place. Before the introduction of automatic film
processing, x-ray films were processed manually. All radiographic processing is automatic today.
The chemicals involved in both are basically the same. In automatic processing, the time for each
step is shorter and the chemical concentration and temperature is higher. FILM PROCESSING
The latent image is invisible because only a few silver ions have been changed to metallic silver
and deposited at the sensitivity center. Processing the film magnifies this action many times until
all the silver ions in exposed crystals are converted to atomic silver, thus converting the latent
image into a visible radiographic image. The exposed crystal becomes a black grain that is
visible microscopically. Processing is as important as technique and positioning in preparing a
quality radiograph. A change in recommended processing conditions should never be a substitute
for a poor radiographic exposure because the result is always a higher patient dose.
PROCESSING SEQUENCE Radiographic film processing involves several steps which are
summarized as:

3. (Bushong S.C., 2009) The first step in the processing sequence involves wetting the film to
swell the emulsion so that subsequent chemical baths can reach all parts of the emulsion
uniformly. In automatic processing, this step is omitted and the wetting agent is incorporated into
second step, developing. The developing stage is very short and highly critical. After developing,
the film is rinsed in an acid solution designed to stop the developing process and remove excess
developer chemicals from the emulsion. Photographers call this step the stop bath. In
radiographic processing, the stop bath is included in the next step, fixing. The gelatin portion of
the emulsion is hardened at the same time to increase its structural soundness. Fixing is followed
by vigorous washing of the film to remove any remaining chemicals from the previous
processing steps. Finally the film is dried to remove the water used to wash it and to make the
film acceptable for handling and viewing. Developing, fixing and washing are important steps in
the processing of radiographic film. The precise chemical reactions involved in these steps are
not completely understood. However a review of the general action is in order because of the
importance of processing in a high quality radiograph. PRECAUTIONS the chemicals used to
process films are designed to penetrate an emulsion and cause an effect. those used in automatic
processors do this very efficiently in hte very short time the film is immersed. thus when one is
mixing solutions cleaning a processor aor participating in any activity with or near processing
solutions these steps should be followed: wear a proper mask that reduces inhalation of fumes
not the standard surgical mask that only guard against particles and bugs. wear nitrite gloves.
do not use surgical gloves; they only protect aganst biologic matter. remember that photographic
chemicals are designed to penetrate and thin rubber gloves provide no guarantee of safety. wear
protective glasses. chemical splashes in the eyes are painful. Event Purpose Approximate time
Manual automatic Wetting Swells the emulsion to permit subsequent chemical penetration 15s --
-- Development Produces a visible image from the latent image 5 min 22s Rinsing in stop bath
Terminates development and removes excess chemical from the emulsion 30s --- Fixing
Removes remaining silver halide from emulsion and hardens gelatin 15 min 22s Washing
Removes excess chemicals 20 min 20s Drying Removes water and prepares radiograph for
viewing 30 min 26s