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Comparison of five methods for the derivation of spectra for a constant potential dental X-ray unit
B R Lankipalli1, W D McDavid, S B Dove
1University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, Texas 78284-7919, USA.
Objectives:
To compare the diagnostic X-ray spectra derived by different methods for a constant potential dental X-ray unit.
Materials And Methods:
Five methods of deriving X-ray spectra for a constant potential dental X-ray unit were compared: measurement by spectrometer using cadmium-zinc-telluride (CZT) detector, calculation by Monte Carlo simulation, calculation by two different, semi-empirical methods and estimation from transmission data. The dental X-ray set was a Heliodent MD unit (Sirona, Charlotte, NC, USA) operable at 60 or 70 kV. A semiconductor detector was used in the spectrometer measurements and an ionization chamber dosimeter in the transmission measurements. From the five methods, photon-fluence spectra were derived. Based on the photon-fluence spectra, average energies and transmission curves in aluminum were calculated.
Results:
For all five methods, the average energies were within 2.4% of one another. Comparison of the transmission curves showed an average difference in the range of 1 to 6%.
Conclusion:
All of the five methods of deriving spectra are in extremely good agreement with each other.
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