The effect of system parameters on resolution in rotational panoramic radiography. A mathematical analysis

The unsharpness in rotational panoramic radiography is the combined effect of motion unsharpness, screen-film unsharpness and geometrical unsharpness. A computer program was written to calculate the noise equivalent passband (Ne) from the modulation transfer function (MTF) of each of the three sources of unsharpness in both the horizontal and vertical dimensions for a typical panoramic machine. Effects on system resolution resulting from changing the size of the focal spot, the screen-film combination, the width of the beam, and the effective projection radius were computed and the interaction of the various parameters was evaluated. Data of this type is essential for evaluation of system performance and for optimizing the operation of panoramic systems.