Sensitometric comparison of direct- and indirect-exposure films used in intraoral radiography

Effects of developer exhaustion on Kodak EKTASPEED Plus, Ektaspeed, and Ultra-speed dental films

In 1994, Eastman Kodak Co. (Rochester, N.Y.) replaced its Ektaspeed film with the EKTASPEED Plus film. The manufacturer claims that one of the advantages of the new film is that it is not strongly affected by exhausted (depleted plus aged) processing solutions. The objective of the experiment was to test this claim. In exhausted solutions, EKTASPEED Plus film lost its speed more rapidly than Ultra-speed film but less rapidly than Ektaspeed film; that is, Ultra-speed film had the most stable speed. EKTASPEED Plus film lost contrast for 2 weeks before stabilizing, whereas Ultra-speed and Ektaspeed films continued to lose contrast for 3 weeks. Overall, EKTASPEED Plus film held its contrast over the other two films. EKTASPEED Plus film stopped increasing its film latitude after 2 weeks, whereas Ultra-speed and Ektaspeed films continued to increase film latitudes. In conclusion, for the three films studied, EKTASPEED Plus maintained the most constant levels of contrast and latitude in progressively exhausted solutions. All three films lost speed in exhausted solutions; EKTASPEED Plus film was the fastest but Ultra-speed film had the most stable speed.

Sensitometric comparison of Kodak EKTASPEED Plus, Ektaspeed, and Ultra-speed Dental Films

In 1994, Eastman Kodak Co. (Rochester, N.Y.) marketed EKTASPEED Plus dental film to combine the advantages of the contrast of Ultra-speed film and the speed of Ektaspeed film. EKTASPEED Plus film uses T-Grain Emulsion technology similar to that used in the manufacture of the light-sensitive indirect exposure Kodak T-Mat film. This study compared the sensitometric properties of Ultra-speed, Ektaspeed, and EKTASEED Plus dental films. EKTASPEED Plus film was faster than Ektaspeed film at all film densities. Ektaspeed film became slower at higher densities and around a density of 1.9 became even slower than the Ultra-speed film. EKTASPEED Plus film had high inherent contrast and narrow exposure latitude similar to that of Ultra-speed film, whereas Ektaspeed film had low inherent contrast and wide exposure latitude. In conclusion, EKTASPEED Plus film had the advantages of the high contrast of Ultra-speed film and the high speed of Ektaspeed film. It maintained its high speed at high densities.

Recovery of silver from radiographic fixer

This study examined the silver content of 10 brands of dental x-ray film that are commercially available in Japan. Kodak Ektaspeed EP-22 (Eastman Kodak Co., Rochester, N.Y.) was found to have the highest silver content, and SD 100 Gold X-ray Film (San Dental Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan) had the lowest content of silver. Electrolysis and ion exchange were used as the methods of silver recovery from films in the general dental office. Ion exchange was more than 99% efficient in silver recovery from the radiographic fixer and resulted in an 80% reduction in biochemical oxygen demand and a 95% reduction in chemical oxygen demand. However, these levels and other environmental pollutants were still above the limits set by the Japanese Pollutant Control law.