Initially published in the ASTM Volume 03.03, October 2010, the ASTM E2737-10 Practice for Digital Detector Array Performance Evaluation and Long-Term Stability is “intended to be used by the NDT using organization to measure the baseline performance of the DDA and to monitor its performance throughout its service as an NDT imaging system.” Since this standard requires extensive support of imaging software functionalities, the paper describes how an inspection system using the best available technology could help an NDT organization to fulfill it. Terms such as “lag”, “burn-in”, and “bad pixel” will probably not all be familiar to each NDT inspector currently using film for his applications – and even if the terms are understood, the detection of cluster kernel pixels, combined with the correct calculation and determination of image quality parameters like SNR or CNR, are not practical without adequate software tools. To make it as easy as possible for an NDT inspector to qualify and frequently validate the long term stability of a digital X-ray system, the software must provide more than just the specialized imaging tools - it should at least provide a fully automated sequence to qualify and periodically validate that the DDA performance is in full compliance with ASTM E2737-10. Furthermore it should automatically create system reports as described in the aforementioned standard – at a minimum with a screenshot, or preferably as a PDF. The ability to conveniently fulfill the ASTM E2737-10 standard, and especially being able to take advantage of the qualification and reporting tools, may help reduce one of the most significant barriers for the NDT inspector that is shifting from film to digital technology: “How can I easily and reliably ensure that the system is performing to specification during each inspection shift?” An example video will show how a fully automatic system qualification, validation, and report generation may look on a typical inspection system.

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