(27) Three-Dimensional Digital Imaging

Computer assisted imaging using a cone-shaped beam of radiation to get a 3D Image

Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT)

Universal format for storing and transmitting 3D images Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine

DICOM data

Area that can be captured in an image during an exposure

Field of View

Divided horizontally (top to bottom)

Axial plane

Divided anterior and posterior halves (front and back)

Coronal plane

Divided left and right halves

Sagittal plane

3D version of a pixel. It’s a pixel with volume.

Voxel

DICOM images allows practitioner to see field of view in how many dimensions?

3

Can DICOM images be viewed in all three planes, slice by slice?

yes

When DICOM images are viewed together, images are referred to as what?

Multiplanar reconstructed images

Can DICOM images be shared amongst dental professionals?

yes

How big is a CBCT machine?

comparable in size to a panoramic machine

How is the patient positioned when taking a CBCT?

sits, stands, or is placed in a supine position

Purpose of CBCT 

• Implant placement

• Extraction or exposure of impacted teeth

• Endodontic assessment

• Airway and sinus analysis

• Orthodontic evaluation

The number of gray scale colors available for each pixel in the image

resolution/contrast

What are the advantages of three-dimensional digital imaging?

Lower radiation dose, brief scanning time, anatomically accurate images, ability to save and easily transport images

What are the disadvantages of three-dimensional digital imaging?

Patient movement and artifacts, Size of the FOV (small findings of findings or pathology in other regions of oral area that may be missed)

Compared with traditional computed tomography (CT) procedures, cone-beam imaging provides a higher radiation dose for the patient.

false

A short exposure time decreases the chances for motion artifacts to occur and encourages a high level of patient cooperation.

true

If the field of view is small, findings or pathology in other regions of the oral and maxillofacial complex may be missed.

true

Cone-beam data has a 2:1 relationship with the anatomy

false, 1:1

A disadvantage of use of cone-beam data is that many dental professionals who incorporate CBCT into their practices have not had the training required to interpret anatomy beyond the maxilla and mandible.

true

Three-dimensional imaging provides an in-depth image that gives dental professionals a more complete interpretive image than with two-dimensional scans of traditional imaging.

true

Three-dimensional imaging serves a number of diagnostic purposes for dental practitioners.

true

An area of high attenuation that could stop radiation from reaching the receptor could include which restoration(s)?

all of the above

Which is/are advantage(s) of CBCT imaging?

all of the above

The fact that the cone-beam data has a 1:1 relationship with the anatomy means that:

all of the above