Quantization is a digital radiography process through which receptor readings are:

• A. Amplifies for processing
• B. Converted to specific digital values
• C. Normalized across the exposure field
• D. Compared to expected exposure values

Answer: (B)

Quantization is the process where the continuous signal produced by the receptor after exposure is mapped to a finite set of digital levels. An analog-to-digital converter assigns each measured intensity to a specific digital value, determined by the system’s bit depth (for example, 12-bit depth yields 4096 possible values). This step is what turns a smooth, continuous signal into discrete numbers that can be stored, displayed, and processed by computers. It’s different from amplification (which increases signal strength), normalization (which adjusts brightness distribution across the image), or comparing to expected exposure values (which relates to exposure indicators or calibration, not how the signal becomes digital). Thus, receptor readings are converted to specific digital values.