Imaging of the midpalatal suture in a porcine model: flat-panel volume computed tomography compared with multislice computed tomography.
OBJECTIVE
An investigation was conducted to compare the image quality of prototype flat-panel volume computed tomography (fpVCT) and multislice computed tomography (MSCT) of suture structures.


METHODS
Bone samples were taken from the midpalatal suture of 5 young (16 weeks) and 5 old (200 weeks) Sus scrofa domestica and fixed in formalin solution. An fpVCT prototype and an MSCT were used to obtain images of the specimens. The facial reformations were assessed by 4 observers using a 1 (excellent) to 5 (poor) rating scale for the weighted criteria visualization of the suture structure. A linear mixed model was used for statistical analysis. Results with P < .05 were considered to be statistically significant.


RESULTS
The visualization of the suture of young specimens was significantly better than that of older animals (P < .001). The visualization of the suture with fpVCT was significantly better than that with MSCT (P < .001).


CONCLUSIONS
Compared with MSCT, fpVCT produces superior results in the visualization of the midpalatal suture in a Sus scrofa domestica model.
Hahn
Wolfram
W
Senior Staff Member, Department of Orthodontics, Georg-August-University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany. weahahn@aol.com
Fricke-Zech
Susanne
S
Fialka-Fricke
Julia
J
Dullin
Christian
C
Zapf
Antonia
A
Gruber
Rudolf
R
Sennhenn-kirchner
Sabine
S
Kubein-Meesenburg
Dietmar
D
Sadat-Khonsari
Reza
R
D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D003393:Cranial Sutures / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D023421:Models, Animal; D021362:Palate, Hard / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D011856:Radiographic Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods; D013552:Swine; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards