title: Quality assurance phantom for digital dental imaging.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this research was to develop a simple quality assurance phantom that could be used for the initial calibration and follow-up testing of commercially available intraoral digital imaging systems.
  
  
  METHODS
  A radiographic phantom was constructed that contains a calibrated step wedge for measuring dose response, an etched pattern of slits in a metallic background for measuring the spatial resolution in line pairs per millimeter, and 2 rows of wells of varying diameter and depth in an acrylic background for contrast-detail analysis. Quality assurance protocols were developed and validated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The quality assurance phantom provides a method of assessing a digital intraoral imaging system by measuring the sensitivity and dynamic range, the contrast/detail detectability and the spatial resolution.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This quality assurance phantom can serve as an effective means to calibrate and monitor the performance characteristics of a digital dental intraoral imaging system.
authors.affiliation: Research Division, Department of Comprehensive Dentistry, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78229, USA. mah@uthscsa.edu
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mah
authors.forename: W Doss
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: McDavid
authors.forename: S Brent
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Dove
mesh_terms: D002138:Calibration / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000592:standards*; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000592:standards*; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D011786:Quality Control; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D019252:Radiography, Dental, Digital / Q000592:standards*