title: Effect of display monitor devices on intra-oral radiographic caries diagnosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Recent developments in digital computer technology have enabled radiological diagnosis to be performed using a monitor screen. In medical radiography, the importance of monitors has been shown in many diseases. Digital imaging and communication in medicine (DICOM)-compatible monitors are widely used. However, the effect of monitors on the diagnosis of oral disease has not yet been clarified and remains controversial. The aims of this study are to compare the caries diagnostic ability between DICOM monitors and other monitors and to examine if monitor capability affects the diagnosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred proximal surfaces of 50 extracted human upper premolar teeth were used as specimens. Intra-oral radiographs of all specimens were taken digitally. Three types of monitors were compared in terms of caries diagnostic ability: a DICOM standard-compatible monitor, a standardized personal computer (PC) monitor, and a tablet PC. Six oral radiologists diagnosed each radiograph independently. Areas under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were generated and compared.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Area under the ROC curve (AUC) of the DICOM monitor, PC monitor, and tablet PC was 0.68147, 0.67002, and 0.60189, respectively. There was no significant difference between the DICOM monitor and the PC monitor, but the tablet PC showed significantly lower accuracy. There were no significant differences among the monitors for dentin caries (p > 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  DICOM-compatible monitors and PC monitors have similar capabilities, but tablet PCs showed lower diagnostic accuracy, especially for superficial caries.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Appropriate monitors are needed for radiographic diagnosis on monitor screens.
authors.affiliation: Division of Radiology, Department of Oral Diagnostic Sciences, Showa University School of Dentistry, Kitasenzoku 2-1-1, Ohta-ku, Tokyo, 145-8515, Japan. araki@dent.showa-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Kazuyuki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Araki
authors.affiliation: Division of Radiology, Department of Oral Diagnostic Sciences, Showa University School of Dentistry, Kitasenzoku 2-1-1, Ohta-ku, Tokyo, 145-8515, Japan.
authors.forename: Mamiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fujikura
authors.affiliation: Division of Radiology, Department of Oral Diagnostic Sciences, Showa University School of Dentistry, Kitasenzoku 2-1-1, Ohta-ku, Tokyo, 145-8515, Japan.
authors.forename: Tsukasa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sano
mesh_terms: D016288:Computer Terminals; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D019252:Radiography, Dental, Digital / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D014584:User-Computer Interface
keywords: Dental caries; Diagnostic accuracy; Digital radiography; Monitor; Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis