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Program Information

Image Quality and Dose Measurement for Partial Cone-Beam CT

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E Abouei

E Abouei*, N Ford , University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC

Presentations

SU-E-I-59 Sunday 3:00PM - 6:00PM Room: Exhibit Hall

Purpose:
To characterize performance of cone beam CT (CBCT) used in dentistry investigating quantitatively the image quality and radiation dose during dental CBCT over different settings for partial rotation of the x-ray tube.

Methods:
Image quality and dose measurements were done on a variable field of view (FOV) dental CBCT (Carestream 9300). X-ray parameters for clinical settings were adjustable for 2-10 mA, 60-90 kVp, and two optional voxel size values, but time was fixed for each FOV. Image quality was assessed by scanning cylindrical poly-methyl methacrylate (PMMA) image quality phantom (SEDENTEXCT IQ), and then the images were analyzed using ImageJ to calculate image quality parameters such as noise, uniformity, and contrast to noise ratio (CNR). A protocol proposed by SEDENTEXCT, dose index 1 (DI1), was applied to dose measurements obtained using a thimble ionization chamber and cylindrical PMMA dose index phantom (SEDENTEXCT DI). Dose distributions were obtained using Gafchromic film. The phantoms were positioned in the FOV to imitate a clinical positioning.

Results:
The image noise was 6-12.5% which, when normalized to the difference of mean voxel value of PMMA and air, was comparable between different FOVs. Uniformity was 93.5-99.7% across the images. CNR was 1.7-4.2 and 6.3-14.3 for LDPE and Aluminum, respectively. Dose distributions were symmetric about the rotation angle's bisector. For large and medium FOVs at 4 mA and 80-90 kVp, DI1 values were in the range of 1.26-3.23 mGy. DI1 values were between 1.01-1.93 mGy for small FOV (5x5 cm²) at 4-5 mA and 75-84 kVp.

Conclusion:
Noise decreased by increasing kVp, and the CNR increased for each FOV. When FOV size increased, image noise increased and CNR decreased. DI1 values were increased by increasing tube current (mA), tube voltage (kVp), and/or FOV.

Funding Support, Disclosures, and Conflict of Interest: Funding for this project from NSERC Discovery grant, UBC Faculty of Dentistry Research Equipment Grant and UBC Faculty of Dentistry S. Wah Leung Endowment Fund.


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