Digital imaging

Numeric format of the image content=digital The sensor is more sensitive to xrays than conventional film Exposure time is 50 to 80% less than that required for conventional radiography

 3 methods to obtain a digital image

Direct digital imaging Indirect digital imaging Storage phosphor imaging

Direct digital imaging

A sensor is placed in the patients mouth and exposed to radiation The sensor captures the radiographic image and transmits the image to a computer monitor

Indirect digital imaging

An existing x-ray film is digitized using a CCD camera which scans the image, then digitize and display it on the computer monitor

Storage Phosphor Imaging

A wireless digital radiographic system The reusable, flexible imaging plate coated with phosphor is used In this, the diagnostic data on the plates following exposure to the xray source and uses a high speed scanner to convert the information to electronic files which can be displayed on the computer screen

Equipment
X radiation source Intra oral sensor Digital image display

Formation Of Digital Image

Steps are Analog process Analog To Digital Conversion (ADC)
Sampling: small range of voltage values are grouped together as a single value Quantization: every sampled signal is assigned a value

Advantages
Lower dose of radiation reqd No need for the conventional processing Hazardous wastes (processing, lead) can be eliminated Easy storage of patient information Easy transfer of images electronically Image enhancement and processing

Disadvantage
Expensive high initial cost Long term storage of images Connecting cable can make intra oral placement of these systems sensors difficult Loss of image quality and resolution Image modification can be time consuming Sensors susceptible to rough handling; costly to replace; risk of systems becoming obsolete

Digital detectors
Solid Detectors:
Charge Coupled Device Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductors Flat Panel Detectors

Photostimulable Phosphor Plates

CCD
Direct digital image receptor Uses a thin wafer of silicon Silicon crystals are formed in a picture element (pixel) matrix

Process of image formation in ccd

Absorption of x rays Breaks the covalent bond between silicon atoms Production of electron hole pair Electrons attracted towards the most positive potential in the device

 Electron forms charge packets Each packet corresponds to 1 pixel

Charge pattern formed from individual pixels represents latent image.

Image is read by bucket brigade fashion

 Charge reaches the end of its row

Charge conveyed to read out amplifier Voltage from the amplifier conveyed to analog to digital convertor The quantization of each sample The values stored in the computer and represent the image.

Disadvantage
More sensitive to light than to x-rays
So manufacturers use a layer of scintillating material coated directly on CCD surfaace or coupled to surface by fiberoptics. E.g. Gadolinium oxybromidem Cesium iodide

CMOS
Detectors are silicon based semi conductors Differ from CCD the way that pixel charges are read Each pixel is isolated from its neighboring pixels and is directly connected to a transistor

Process Of Formation Of Image In CMOS

Absorption of x rays Breaks the covalent bond between silicon atoms Production of electron hole pair Charge is transferred to transistor as a small voltage

 Read by frame grabber

Stored and displayed as digital gray value

Photo Stimulable Phosphor Plates

Absorb and store energy from x rays Release this energy as light Material used:
Europium doped barium fluorohalide

Process Of Formation Of Image

Absorption of x rays Moves valence electrons in europium to the conduction band Migration of this electrons into f centres in fluorohalide lattice

 No. of trapped electrons in the F centres is proportional to x ray exposure and represents a latent image When stimulated by red light, BFH releases trapped electrons to the conduction band
When an electron returns to europium ion energy is released in the green spectrum Fibre optics conduct light from the phosphor plate to a photo multiplier tube Pmt converts light into electrical energy

 A red filter at the photo multiplier tube selectively removes the stimulating light and the remaining green light is detected and converted to a varying voltage The voltage signal is quantified by an ADC and stored and displayed as a digital image

Common Problems in Digital Imaging

Noisy images (resembles x-ray underexposure) Nonuniform Image Density (plates overlapped while exposed to ambient light) Distorted images (bending of PSP plates) Double images (scratched phosphor surface) Improper use of image processing tools (such as filters)