Initial evaluation of linear and spatially oriented planar images from a new dental panoramic system based on tomosynthesis

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to describe a newly developed dental panoramic system based on the tomosynthesis method and to validate the accuracy of linear and spatially oriented planar images. An original robotic mechanism incorporating a new high-speed cadmium-telluride (CdTe) semiconductor detector was fabricated to acquire panoramic images (raw data). The shift-and-add tomosynthesis method was applied to facilitate changes in the depth of the panoramic imaging layer. Using the texture mapping method, planar and spatially oriented images were reconstructed along a custom curved imaging plane. Using a custom phantom and dry skulls, the accuracy of selected linear measurements was evaluated. Preliminary measurements demonstrated acceptable linear accuracy in reconstructed panoramic images with variations <5%. This preliminary investigation demonstrates that dental panoramic images acquired by a novel robotic mechanism and CdTe detector using a tomosynthesis method provides planar and spatially oriented images with an image quality that may be acceptable for dental practice.