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Digital radiography (CR/DR)
What it is
The two digital replacements for X-ray film. CR uses a reusable phosphor plate read by a scanner and can retrofit an existing analog room cheaply; DR uses a flat-panel detector that produces the image directly, with no cassette handling
DR is the destination technology - faster, lower dose, fewer retakes - while CR is the cheap bridge that keeps installed analog equipment in service
Impact on industries
- The direct cause of medical X-ray film obsolescence, and the single largest structural threat to the photographic products category
- Large equipment opportunity - India runs at 80-100 CT scanners per million against 300-400 in high-income countries, and digital X-ray adoption rose ~20% between 2023 and 2025
- For hospitals and labs it removes film, chemicals and darkroom cost, raises throughput and enables teleradiology and AI-assisted reads
- Decline of film is gradual, not abrupt - CR retrofits keep analog rooms alive in district and rural facilities, so India's film base erodes over years rather than months