Are digital images good enough? A comparative study of conventional film-screen vs digital radiographs on printed images of total hip replacement

The aim of this study was to evaluate the inter- and intra-observer variability and to find differences in diagnostic safety between digital and analog technique in diagnostic zones around hip prostheses. In 80 patients who had had a total hip replacement (THR) for more than 2 years, a conventional image and a digital image were taken. Gruen’s model of seven distinct regions of interest was used for evaluations. Five experienced radiologists observed the seven regions and noted in a protocol the following distances: stem–cement; cement–bone; and stem–bone. All images were printed on hard copies and were read twice. Weighted kappa, κ_w, analyses were used. The two most frequently loosening regions, stem–cement region 1 and cement–bone region 7, were closely analyzed. In region 1 the five observers had an agreement of 86.75–97.92% between analog and digital images in stem–cement, which is a varied κ_w 0.29–0.71. For cement–bone region 7 an agreement of 87.21–90.45% was found, which is a varied κ_w of 0.48–0.58. All the kappa values differ significantly from nil. The result shows that digital technique is as good as analog radiographs for diagnosing possible loosening of hip prostheses.