Patent ID: 7016467

Claim:
A digital radiography method of rapidly generating a digital x-ray image and forwarding it to a remote site, the method comprising the steps of: (a) moving a mobile x-ray apparatus to the patient, and entering an imaging technique at the mobile x-ray apparatus; (b) positioning a flat panel detector of the mobile x-ray apparatus under a target body area of the patient; (c) emitting x-rays from the mobile x-ray apparatus onto the target body area; (d) sensing energy from the x-rays using sensors of the flat panel detector; (e) converting signals from the sensors of the flat panel detector into at least one digital image; (f) transmitting the at least one digital image from the flat panel detector to a first computer of the mobile x-ray apparatus; (g) forwarding the at least one digital image to a remote site using the first computer; and wherein the at least one digital image is transmitted from the flat panel detector to the first computer by a wireless network; and further comprising the step of using a first input apparatus of the first computer to enter patient demographics; wherein the at least one digital image and the patient demographics form a patient study; and further comprising the step of converting the patient study to Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine protocol within the first computer prior to sending the patient study to a quality control workstation.