When a beverage is spilled on a cassette, which component will have to be replaced?

• A. Screen
• B. Cassette shell
• C. Film
• D. Screens

Answer: (D)

The key idea is that the light-producing layers inside a radiographic cassette are the most vulnerable to liquid exposure. The screens inside the cassette are coated with phosphor that converts x-ray energy into visible light, which then exposes the film. When a beverage spills into the cassette, moisture can damage or detach the phosphor layer, cause swelling or delamination, and degrade the light output. Once the screens are compromised, the imaging performance is lost, and the only reliable fix is to replace the screens. The outer shell can often be cleaned and dried, and the film may be salvageable if the spill didn’t reach it, but the screens determine whether the cassette can produce proper images, so they must be replaced.