The aim of this research is to evaluate the archiving efficiency in National Orthopaedic Hospital Enugu (NOHE) and University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH) Ituku-ozalla. It is a prospective study which evaluates the archiving procedures used in the two Federal institutions.

The result showed that National Orthopaedic Hospital Enugu and  University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital encountered 2.1317% and 1.5625% loss of radiographs respectively within the duration of this research.

To improve the archiving procedure in the two federal institutions, standard techniques must be practiced. 

TITLE PAGE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

ABSTRACT

LIST OF TABLES

LIST OF FIGURES

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.6 LITERATURE REVIEW

CHAPTER TWO

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

2.1   FILM ARCHIVING

2.2    MANUAL FILM ARCHIVING METHOD

2.2.1   MINIATURIZATION OF RADIOGRAPHS

2.2.2    ADVANTAGES OF MINIATURIZATION

2.2.3    DISADVANTAGES OF MINIATURIZATION

2.2.4    ADVANTAGES OF MANUAL FILM STORAGE METHOD

2.2.5    DISADVANTAGES OF MANUAL FILM STORAGE METHOD

2.3   DIGITAL FILM ARCHIVING METHOD

2.3.1    IMAGE ARCHIVAL AND BACKUP

2.3.2    IMAGE ACQUISITION SUBSYSTEM

2.3.3 FILM DIGITIZATION

2.4    STORAGE OF RADIOGRAPHIC IMAGES

2.4.1    SHORT TERM DATA STORAGE

2.4.2    LONG TERM DATA STORAGE

CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1   RESEARCH DESIGN

3.2    SOURCES OF DATA

3.3   METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION

CHAPTER FOUR

DATA ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION

4.1    DATA ANALYSIS

4.2 DATA PRESENTATION

CHAPTER FIVE

5.3    CONCLUSION

5.5    AREAS OF FURTHER RESEARCH

5.6    LIMITATIONS OF STUDY

REFERENCES

APPENDIX

Table I: Archiving Method

Table II: Automatic Smoke Detectors

Table III: Room Illumination

Table IV: Security

Table V: Room Temperature

Table VI: Room Size

Fig. I: Distribution of loss of radiographs in UNTH

Fig. II: Distribution of loss of radiographs in NOHE

Fig III: Distribution of filing of radiographs

The radiology department is one of the departments in a hospital that provide medical care and a wide range of diagnostic services such as computer tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasound, mammography, radionuclide imaging and conventional x – ray services used in patient care. The major recording medium used in image acquisition and archiving is the x- ray film which are usually placed in file jacket and stored in shelves1. 

 While poor storage condition will hasten this deterioration process, good storage procedure will increase the shelf –life of the films. Poor storage condition and ageing are indicated by a decrease in the archival permanence and contrast of the image2. The radiographs are stored in shelves in rooms free from gases such as formaldehyde, hydrogen sulphide, hydrogen peroxide and ammonia as they tend to reduce the archival permanence2. The radiographs are filed in shelves either according to patient x – ray number, hospital number, region of body examined or imaging modality used or a combination of any of the types. This helps in serial arrangement of they can easily be retrieved. In addition to importance of proper film archiving for easy retrieval, it is also important for educational purposes for training medical student in the field of radiology, medico legal cases, conducting researches and in policy making in the department.

Due to advances in technology, some departments currently use archiving system known as Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS). This acquires, manipulates, transports and stores radiographic images digitally. The introduction of PACS has made it possible for radiographers and other hospital personnel to efficiently archive and retrieve patient’s radiographs without much difficulty3.