Specialities: Breast Imaging, Cardiothoracic, Dental Radiography, Forensic Radiography, Gastro-Intestinal Radiology, Musculoskeletal, Paediatric Imaging, Uroradiology
Plain film X-ray is often a patient’s first interaction with the imaging department. An X-ray is a quick and painless procedure commonly used to produce images of the inside of the body.
It’s a very effective way of looking at the bones and can be used to help detect a range of conditions.
During an X-ray, you’ll usually be asked to lie on a table or stand against a flat surface so that the part of your body being examined can be positioned in the right place.
The X-ray machine, which looks like a tube containing a large light bulb, will be carefully aimed at the part of the body being examined by the radiographer. They will operate the machine from behind a screen.
The X-ray will last for a fraction of a second. You won’t feel anything while it’s carried out.
While the X-ray is being taken, you’ll need to keep still so the image produced isn’t blurred. More than one X-ray may be taken from different angles to provide as much information as possible
The procedure will usually only take a few minutes.
For all X-rays, patients should let the radiographer know if they are pregnant. X-rays aren’t usually recommended for pregnant women unless it’s an emergency.
The Imaging Directorate at Heartlands, Good Hope, Solihull Hospitals, and Birmingham Chest Clinic performs approximately 245,762 x-ray examinations each year using a range of computed and digital radiographic technologies.
Heartlands Hospital has 3 dedicated X-ray rooms for in-patients, out-patients and GPs with 2 rooms using digital radiography. In addition Heartlands has 2 X-ray rooms serving the Emergency Department, Acute Medical, and Surgical Assessment Units with 1 room using digital radiography. Co-located is a dental X-ray room using computed radiography. These rooms are supported by the following equipment:
- Philips DigitalDiagnost HP Flex including Skyflow
- Siemens Polydorus LX50
- Siemens Axiom Aristos MX
- Philips DigitalDiagnost HP including Skyflow
- Siemens Multix Top
- Xograph Planeca Proline XC OPG/Ceph
Good Hope Hospital has 3 general X-ray rooms, 2 are located in the main imaging department with 1 using digital radiography, and 1 X-ray room located in Area F of the Treatment Centre using computed radiography. In addition there are 2 dedicated X-ray rooms for the Emergency Department with 1 room using digital radiography. Co-located is a dental X-ray room using computed radiography. These rooms are supported by the following equipment:
- Philips DigitalDiagnost HP including Skyflow
- Philips Bucky Diagnost
- Siemens Axiom Aristos MX
- Siemens Multix Top
- Xograph Planmeca ProMax 2D S2 OPG/Ceph
Solihull Hospital has 2 dedicated X-ray rooms for the Emergency Department, out-patients and GPs with 1 room using digital radiography. In addition Solihull has 1 X-ray room serving in-patients using computed radiography. Co-located is a dental X-ray room using computed 
radiography. These rooms are supported by the following equipment:
- Siemens Multix Top
- Philips DigitalDiagnost C90 including Skyflow (reference site)
- Siemens Multix Top
- Xograph Planmeca Proline XC
The X-ray service operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on all three sites.
Birmingham Chest Clinic has 1 dedicated X-ray room for GP’s and out-patients using computed radiography. This room is supported by the following equipment:
- Siemens Multix Top
