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Evaluation of tuned-aperture computed tomography in the detection of simulated periodontal defects
Aruna Ramesh1, John B Ludlow, Richard L Webber
1Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Department of General Dentistry, Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, Boston, Mass 02111, USA. aruna.ramesh@tufts.edu
Objective:
The objective of this study was to compare the diagnostic efficacy of tuned-aperture computed tomography (TACT) and conventional film for the detection of simulated periodontal defects.
Study Design:
Periodontal defects were created in 15 premolar-molar interproximal sites selected from 8 cadaver jaw segments. Ten observers viewed 45 image pairs (baseline and follow up) in 4 TACT modalities and film to assess the presence of defect. The TACT modalities were 1st and 2nd generation prototype systems (TACT-1 and TACT-2) with circular (C) and random (R) distribution patterns of source projection (TACT-1C, TACT-1R, TACT-2C, TACT-2R). Observer performance and related factors were analyzed by using receiver operating characteristic and analysis of variance.
Results:
Mean A(z) values were 0.64 for film, 0.74 for TACT-1C, 0.82 for TACT-1R, 0.64 for TACT-2C, and 0.69 for TACT-2R. TACT-1R was significantly better than film (P < .001), TACT-2C (P < .001) and TACT-2R (P = .007).
Conclusion:
TACT-1R provided the best diagnostic performance in the detection of simulated periodontal defects among the 5 modalities compared in this study.
