A Comparative Study of Radiographic Images on Normal Anatomical Structures

Choi, Heang Hee; Choi, Eui Hwan; Kim, Jae Duk

Abstract

PURPOSE: To compare radiographic images of Digora system and Ektaspeed Plus film obtained from normal adults.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Storage phosphor plate(SPP) was placed in a film holder behind Ektaspeed Plus film package without lead foil. The effect of film on SPP was studied in a separate in vitro experiment. Forty-seven sets of images were prepared for the evaluaton. The regions of interest(ROI) for evaluation were designated at seven sites including normal anatomical structures. The image quality for each ROI was evaluated on enhanced and unenhanced storage phosphor(SP) images and Ektaspeed Plus film.
RESULTS
Two film-SPP configurations showed significantly different grey levels at each step of the aluminum step wedge(p<0.05). The contrasts were comparable. Enhanced SP images were significantly superior to unenhaned images and film in all anatomical sturctures(p<0.01). The differences between unenhanced SP images and film were significant(p<0.05) except root canal and cortical bone on alveolar crest. For anatomical items, there were statistically significant difference among five observers(p<0.05).
CONCLUSIONS
The image quality of enhanced SP images were superior to Ektaspeed Plus film, and Digora system is potentially applicable to clinical diagnosis.