Dark Room

TARUN KATARIA
MRIT 1ST SEM
230513012
• Content:
❑ Introduction
❑ Construction of dark room
❑ Dark room equipments
 INTRODUCTION

• The dark room is a important place in the radiology department of a

hospital and nursing home.
• Its also known as “processing room”, where latent image processed
into visible image by means of chemical processing.
• The dark room should be light proof to avoid the film fogging.
• The dark room must have large enough space to accommodate
all the necessary equipments without overcrowding.
• Generally dark room is divided into two compartment known as
dry side and wet side.
• Loading bench & radiographic films are important component of
dry side while processing chemicals such as developer, Ringer,
Fixer are the essential component of wet side.
 Construction of Dark Room
• Location: The dark room should be located close to the
radiographic room as it save lot of processing time.
• If there are two or more radiographic rooms , the dark room
should preferably be situated in central position.
• Sited away from very damp or hot area.
• Size
• Ideal dark room requires a minimum floor area of 10 m² and a
ceiling height of around 2.5-3 m.
• However, where this room is used infrequently and for short
periods , its size may be reduced.
• Radiation protection

• It is essential for the dark room to be well protected from the radiation to prevent the
films from fogging.
• The wall should be lead lined with lead sheet of approx 1.5-1.6mm thickness .
• It leads to sufficient work up to 100 kV .
• Floor:
• The floor should be durable, easily cleaned, not slippery
and resistant to staining and corrosive substance.
• Ceramic tiles of porcelain or natural clay are the most
satisfactory.
• Wall covering :
• The wall of the dark room do not have to be dark.
• The colour chosen in dark room must be checked under safe
light illumination, as it is important that there should be
maximum reflection of safe light.
• The wall should be covered with chemical resistant material such
as special paint, varnish etc.
• Ventilation:
• Window should be avoid because they are difficult to render light proof.
• Air condition is the ideal solution for the dark room but it’s not always
possible.

NOTE: Relative humidity is maintained at around 40-60%.

Room temperatures maintained between 18 and 20°C.
• Entrance :
• There are different types of entrance design used in dark room to
enter and leave a darkroom without admitting white light.
❑ Single door
❑ Double door
❑ Revolving door
❑ Maize type or Labyrinth
Single door
Double door
Revolving door
Maze type
• Darkroom illumination:
• The dark room should have following type of illumination
❑ Ordinary white lighting.
❑ Safe light.
• White lighting: White lighting is necessary for the following tasks:

❑ Inspection and maintenance of cassettes.

❑ Cleaning of work surfaces and floors;
❑ Servicing of equipment.
• Safe light :
• Safe light is a lamp which produce light on the work station
where film processing occurs.
• It will not effect the radiographic film.
• Generally 15 watt lamp used as a light source, and it should not
exceed 25 watt.
• There are two type of safe light used in the dark room
❑ Direct safelight
❑ Indirect safelight
• Direct safelight: Light from the
lamp directly fall on to the work
surface.
• Minimum distance is 1.2 m/4 ft
from the working surface,
because of safelight is not
completely safe.
• Suitable for loading and
unloading of film .
• Also useful in chemical
processing.
• Indirect safelight: Directs the
light towards the ceiling which
reflect back into the room
• Intended to provide general
illumination of the dark room
• Suspended at least 2.1 m above
floor level
• Safelight filters
• Safelight filters usually consist of a sheet of gelatin dyed to the
appropriate colour and sandwiched between two sheets of glass for
protection.
• Gelatin will deteriorate if subjected to extremes of heat and moisture,
and so higher-wattage lamps should never be used.
• Note - Dichroic filters are now used in safelights.
• Safe film-handling time

• Safe film-handling time is defined as the maximum time for which a film
can be exposed to the safelights during the above procedure without
causing any appreciable degree of fogging.
• WHICH COLOUR FILTER TO USE
• X-ray films have the highest sensitivity to the blue-green part of the light
spectrum .
• The X- ray film is less sensitive to light in the opposite region of the
spectrum - i.e. the yellow and red region.
• It is obvious that the blue filter cannot be used, neither a green color filter
as it is so close to the blue.
• Therefore safelights are safest when made with amber or red filters.
• How Safe Is Safe Lighting
• No safe lighting is completely safe; all films will become significantly
fogged if exposed to safelights for long enough.
• This is because safelight filters are not perfect absorbers of the undesirable
wavelengths, all films have some sensitivity to all wavelengths.
• Thus, the intensity of illumination and the film- handling time must be kept
to a minimum.
• Checking the safeness of safe light:
• Safe light should be checked periodically by following method:
• In a good dark room place a unexposed film on the table with the metal
piece such as a coin on it.
• Expose the film to the safe light with this coin with different time interval,
such as 30 sec, 1 min, and 2 min, 4 min.
• Note the time of exposure, where the out line of coin is just appear on the
film. This is the maximum time that the film can withstands from the safe
light without fog.
 Dark room equipment

❑ Pass box
❑ Cassette
❑ Hangers
❑ Loading bench
❑ Radiographic film
❑Film processing unit
❑Processing chemicals
 Passbox
• Its a place where loaded and
unloaded cassette should be occur.
• Most suitable location for the pass
box is near to the loading bench.
• Typical pass box having two light
tight and x-ray proof doors that are
so interlocked that both can not be
opened at the same time.
• The pass box is divided into two
compartments, one for unexposed
and another for exposed film.
 Cassette
❖ Cassette: Cassette is a rigid holder that contains
screen(intensifying screen) and film.
❖ Construction : Front part of the cassetteetis
made up of low atomic no element such Metal
(e.g. aluminium), plastic laminate or carbon .
❖ All these materials having the following
advantages:
❑ Strength and stiffness;
❑ Light in weight;
❑ Low beam absorption.
• Cassette back
• The back side of the cassette constructed with
metal or plastic and lined with lead foil in order to
protect the film from radiation scattered
backwards.
❖ Function of cassette
❑ To hold intensifying screens and protect them from damage.
❑ To exclude all light from entering the cassette and fogging the film.
❑ To maintain a close and uniform contact between the film and screens.
❑ To exclude dust and dirt from the sensitive screens.
❖ Characteristics of the ideal cassette
❑ Strong and rigid to withstand daily wear and tear.
❑ Lightweight to facilitate easy handling and carrying.
❑ Easy to open and close, under low light conditions.
❑ No sharp edges or corners which might injure patients or staff.
❑ Availability in range of film sizes.
Size of cassette
 Testing a cassette for light leakage

• The cassette is loaded with film and closed.

• Each side and edge of the cassette is subjected in turn to light from a 100 W
tungsten lamp for a period of 15 min at a distance of 1.22 m from the cassette.
• The film is then processed and viewed.
• If film appears black, means no leakage found while any brighter shades or white
line on radiographic film reported to be a leakage of cassette.
Hanger
 Loading bench
• It is work station in dark room where loading & unloading of
film occur.
• The length of the loading bench depends upon the volume of
work and the available space.
 Film
• Radiographic film occurs in different size such as
• 6x8
• 8x10
• 10x12
• 12x15
• 12x12
• 14x17
Thank you