Development and clinical application of dual energy imaging in dental X-ray examination.

双能成像技术在x射线成像的许多领域显示出其诊断潜力，如胸部x线摄影、乳房x线摄影和计算机断层摄影。在本研究中，单次曝光双能量成像应用于口腔内x线摄影，并使用数字图像处理产生选择性骨图像，以便在不受软组织阻碍的情况下准确测量牙槽骨密度。在传统的放射成像系统中，采用膜间滤光片分离的一对口内膜，并通过计算机图像处理将其分解成等效的铝图像。通过计算机模拟和实验研究，探讨了膜间过滤器的最佳材料和厚度。提出了一种单曝光双能量成像的图像分解算法。此外，还对该方法测定骨矿物质含量的准确性进行了研究。结果如下：口腔内放射成像中单次曝光双能成像可分离骨等效图像。0的铜箔。在目前的成像系统中，厚度为1 mm的膜间滤光片是最理想的。对于厚度小于16mm的铝质物体，即使覆盖40mm厚的Mix-DP作为软组织，该方法的骨矿物质含量测量误差为0.57 mm（铝厚度）。单次曝光双能量成像有可能在常规口内x线片基础上增加进一步的诊断信息，而无需额外的剂量和对患者的额外检查。利用该技术，前片可用于常规放射诊断，骨等效图像可用于量化牙槽骨的绝对矿物质含量。

The dual energy imaging technique has demonstrated its diagnostic potential in many areas of x-ray imaging, such as chest radiography, mammography, and computed tomography. In this research, single exposure dual energy imaging was applied to intraoral radiography and selective bone images were produced using digital image processing to allow accurate measurement of alveolar bone density without hindrance from soft tissue. A pair of intraoral films separated with an inter-film filter was used in a conventional radiographic system, and an aluminum equivalent image was decomposed from these images by computerized image processing. The optimum material and thickness of the inter-film filter was investigated by computer simulation and'experimental studies. An image decomposition algorithm was proposed for single exposure dual energy imaging. In addition, the accuracy of bone mineral content measurement by this method was also investigated. The results was shown as follows. Bone equivalent images could be separated by single exposure dual energy imaging in intraoral radiography. A copper foil of 0. I mm in thickness was found to be optimal as an inter-film filter in the present imaging system. Measurement error of bone mineral content in this method was 0.57 mm in aluminum thickness for an aluminum object of less than 16 mm thickness even though it overlaid with 40 mm thick Mix-DP as soft tissue. Single exposure dual energy imaging has a potential to add further diagnostic information to a conventional intraoral radiogram with no additional dosage and no additional examinations to the patient. With this technique, the front film can be used for conventional radiographic diagnosis and the bone equivalent image can be used to quantify the absolute mineral content of alveolar bone.