High dynamic range (HDR) images of radiographies: modern digital replacement of negatoscopes?

With this paper we are presenting a new promising approach to digitalization of radiographic image in film, using common photographic cameras as device to digitalize with different levels of exposure (allowing, in some cases, to read information from the darker/denser areas of the image) and combining those images with the new technique of High Dynamic Range (HDR) imaging, increasing this way the exposure latitude of the final image. This new approach is possible today because the most recent generations of image treatment software present this new feature. Examples of software presenting this tool are the market leader Adobe Photoshop (presenting this HDR capacity since CS2 version) or the most HDR specialized Photomatix, among others. The resulting images seem to show in somecases more interesting results than the single pass digitalization of images, with or without post-processing improvement, and can in some cases be a good alternative to the use of negatoscopes on the exam of radiographies.