A new study by IMV Medical Information Division reports that approximately one-third of the hospitals have at least one digital radiography (DR) system in their x-ray department, however, over half have adopted computed radiography (CR) technology.
The survey involved 4,860 hospital sites and recorded that 16,510 units in these hospitals comprised both conventional x-ray and digital radiography (DR) units. However, 50 percent of the hospitals reported having a CR system installed.
“Nationwide, hospital x-ray departments are transitioning to filmless solutions by purchasing DR or CR technology,” said Lorna Young, senior director, Market Research. “Some hospitals are adopting CR or DR as their preferred solution for a filmless department, while others are transitioning towards a complete digital solution by upgrading their conventional x-ray units with CR before replacing their x-ray installed base with DR technology.”
Other highlights from IMV’s 2005/06 X-ray/DR/CR Census Database include:
• An estimated 140.1 million procedures were performed using general x-ray equipment in the United States in 2005. Of these, nearly half were chest studies, 20 percent were abdomen/pelvis procedures and another 19% were extremity procedures.
• In 2005, the average number of total x-ray procedures performed per hospital was 28,815.
• The average number of x-ray units (including both conventional and DR) per site is 3.4 units.
March 05, 2026 
