Image quality and dose assessment in inner ear computed tomography imaging with a flat panel-based system.
OBJECTIVE
The temporal bone includes several important structures of the human body, some of which are smaller than 1 mm. The aim of this study is to demonstrate the feasibility of a computed tomography system capable of providing 3-dimensional images of the inner ear with low doses and a spatial resolution adequate for providing the surgeon with good guidance.


METHODS
A laboratory prototype, based on a CMOS Hamamatsu model C10900D detector, was set up, and several tomographic tests were carried out on 2 dedicated phantoms.


RESULTS
The proposed system is able to achieve a 150-μm spatial resolution (5% of modulation transfer function) with a voxel size of 88 μm, with an acceptable contrast and an estimated effective dose ranging from 1/20 up to 1/100 of the mean effective dose reported in literature for head computed tomography.


CONCLUSIONS
The new tomographic system has shown excellent characteristics and proves suitable for the imaging of the inner ear. In particular, this prototype requires very low radiation doses.
From the *Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy; †National Institute for Nuclear Physics, Bologna, Italy; and ‡Enrico Fermi Center for Study and Research, Rome, Italy.
Rosa
R
Brancaccio
Matteo
M
Bettuzzi
Maria Pia
MP
Morigi
Franco
F
Casali
Luca
L
Ragazzini
D007758:Ear, Inner / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*