title: Optimization of exposure in panoramic radiography while maintaining image quality using adaptive filtering.
abstract: Objective The purpose of the present study was to investigate the potential of using advanced external adaptive image processing for maintaining image quality while reducing exposure in dental panoramic storage phosphor plate (SPP) radiography. Materials and methods Thirty-seven SPP radiographs of a skull phantom were acquired using a Scanora panoramic X-ray machine with various tube load, tube voltage, SPP sensitivity and filtration settings. The radiographs were processed using General Operator Processor (GOP) technology. Fifteen dentists, all within the dental radiology field, compared the structural image quality of each radiograph with a reference image on a 5-point rating scale in a visual grading characteristics (VGC) study. The reference image was acquired with the acquisition parameters commonly used in daily operation (70 kVp, 150 mAs and sensitivity class 200) and processed using the standard process parameters supplied by the modality vendor. Results All GOP-processed images with similar (or higher) dose as the reference image resulted in higher image quality than the reference. All GOP-processed images with similar image quality as the reference image were acquired at a lower dose than the reference. This indicates that the external image processing improved the image quality compared with the standard processing. Regarding acquisition parameters, no strong dependency of the image quality on the radiation quality was seen and the image quality was mainly affected by the dose. Conclusions The present study indicates that advanced external adaptive image processing may be beneficial in panoramic radiography for increasing the image quality of SPP radiographs or for reducing the exposure while maintaining image quality.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Oral Radiology , Postgraduate Dental Education Center , Örebro , Sweden.|b Faculty of Medicine and Health , School of Health and Medical Sciences, Örebro University , Örebro , Sweden.|c Department of Radiology , Skaraborg Hospital Skövde , Skövde , Sweden.
authors.forename: Björn
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Svenson
authors.affiliation: c Department of Radiology , Skaraborg Hospital Skövde , Skövde , Sweden.
authors.forename: Lars
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Larsson
authors.affiliation: d Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering , Sahlgrenska University Hospital , Gothenburg , Sweden.|e Department of Radiation Physics , Institute of Clinical Sciences at Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg , Gothenburg , Sweden.
authors.forename: Magnus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Båth
mesh_terms: D005374:Filtration / Q000295:instrumentation; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011856:Radiographic Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods; D019252:Radiography, Dental, Digital / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D011862:Radiography, Panoramic / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D012886:Skull / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D013679:Technology, Radiologic / Q000379:methods; D014963:X-Ray Intensifying Screens
keywords: Computer-assisted image processing; panoramic radiography; radiation dosages