Image evaluation can be both one of the most easy and difficult things that a radiology technologist will encounter during their career. Images have to be aligned in a specific way in order to capture different aspects of the body. Images need to exhibit specific positioning so that all images have a standard reference point. A lateral wrist has a specific position so that the shapes of the bones are similar to their reference point. The lateral wrist needs to include in the collimation from the ulnar head to the proximal phalanx. The styloid processes should be felt to ensure that they are superimposed. The center of the CR and IR should be in alignment 1 inch below the styloid processes.
There should be a fair amount of grays to contrast between the black and white parts of the images to ensure an optimal exposure. This can be done by using calipers to check the density of the wrist and setting control factors to ensure that the image is properly exposed. Finally, you need to ensure that the right anatomy is inside of the image and that can be done by ensuring that all of the parts are inside of the collimated field. For this example that would include the radius, ulna, carpals, metacarpals, and part of the proximal phalanx.
X-ray X-pert 