Conventional and predicted perceptibility curves for contrast-enhanced direct digital intraoral radiographs.
OBJECTIVE
To construct Perceptibility Curves (PCs) for contrast-enhanced digital intraoral radiographs.


METHODS
Radiographs of a test object having holes of increasing depths were exposed using three digital systems, the CDR (Schick Technologies, Long Island, NY, USA), the Dixel (J Morita MFG, Kyoto, Japan) and the Sens-A-Ray (Regam Medical Systems, Sundsvall, Sweden). The radiographs were contrast-enhanced and PCs constructed in the conventional way using 10 observers. Predicted PCs were calculated and compared with observer data.


RESULTS
The PCs showed that contrast enhancement is effective for the perception of small contrast details, especially in the low exposure range. Predicted PCs demonstrated excellent agreement with observer data.


CONCLUSIONS
Contrast enhancement should be advantageous in digital radiography. The effects of contrast enhancement on PCs may be predicted without previous knowledge of observer performance.
Yoshiura
K
K
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Graduate School of Dental Science, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
Welander
U
U
Shi
X Q
XQ
Li
G
G
Kawazu
T
T
Tatsumi
M
M
Okamura
K
K
McDavid
W D
WD
Kanda
S
S
D000465:Algorithms; D003287:Contrast Media; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D015588:Observer Variation; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D011856:Radiographic Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods*; D019252:Radiography, Dental, Digital / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013499:Surface Properties; D014796:Visual Perception
D003287:Contrast Media