Which of the following will increase the contrast resolution of a digital radiographic system?

Increasing the bit depth of a digital radiographic system enhances its contrast resolution because it allows for a greater number of shades of gray to be represented in the image. Bit depth refers to the number of bits used to represent each pixel, and a higher bit depth means that more intensity levels can be captured and displayed. For instance, an 8-bit system can represent 256 grayscale levels, whereas a 12-bit system can represent 4096 levels. This increased range enables the system to differentiate between subtle variations in tissue density, resulting in improved image contrast.

While the other options may influence different aspects of image quality, such as exposure or noise levels, they do not directly enhance the capacity of the system to differentiate between adjacent structures based on contrast. For example, increasing kVp primarily affects penetration power and overall image density rather than contrast resolution. An improved signal-to-noise ratio helps with overall image clarity but does not directly correlate to increased contrast resolution itself. Additionally, reduced exposure time can lead to decreased motion blur but does not inherently improve the ability to discern subtle differences in contrast between tissues.