Low-dose multidetector CT and cone beam CT protocols for volumetric measurement of simulated periapical lesions.

Abstract

INTRODUCTION\nTo evaluate the accuracy of low-dose multidetector computed tomography (LD-MDCT) for the volumetric measurement of simulated periapical lesions.\n\n\nMETHODS\nEighteen monoradicular teeth were introduced in bone blocks, and periapical lesions were simulated at the periapical region of each tooth. All teeth were imaged using four acquisition protocols: large (dentoalveolar) field of view (FOV) CBCT (120kV, 5mA, 0.2mm-voxel), small (dental) FOV CBCT (90kV, 10mA, 0.2mm-voxel), standard MDCT (120kV, 50mA, 0.62mm-voxel), and LD-MDCT (120kV, 10mA, 0.62mm-voxel). Tomographic images were evaluated by a single trained and calibrated examiner (ICC = 0.991) using ITK-SNAP segmentation software. The gold standard was obtained by the impressions of the lesions with regular fluid addition silicone and individual weighing using a precision analytical scale. Data were evaluated by the repeated measures ANOVA test; the significance level was defined as p < 0.05.\n\n\nRESULTS\nNo statistical differences (p> 0.05) were found among the groups, regardless of the device, milliamperage, FOV, or voxel size.\n\n\nCONCLUSION\nLD-MDCT shows performance comparable to other standard reference methods for measuring the volume of periapical lesions and can be a useful and safe protocol in clinical situations where CBCT is not available, such as in cases of patients admitted to hospitals.