A comparison of carbon-fiber and aluminum front plates in rapid film changers.

The radiation transmission characteristics of 2-mm-thick aluminum front plates and 2-mm-thick carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic front plates for rapid film changers were compared. While the carbon-fiber plates were found to be intrinsically more radiolucent than the aluminum plates, the decrease in patient exposure with the carbon-fiber plates was only approximately 25%. No measurable differences in image quality were observed in carefully controlled experiments on the two types of front plates.