Durability of Digora Optime® imaging plates

Abstract

Objectives To assess the durability of the imaging plates (IP) supplied with the Digora Optime Ò digital imaging system in terms of their functionality after as many as 1000 exposures and the degree of signal fading that occurred after a delay of up to 144 h between exposure and scanning Methods The materials examined consisted of eight IPs. Three new and three used IPs were tested for signal fading, and the other two new IPs were exposed 1000 times and then tested for durability. The first exposure image data were used as baseline for comparison. The exposed IPs were then scanned 0, 5, 10, 30, and 60 min, and 3, 24, 72, and 144 h after exposure. Images without automatic gain control were used in both analyses. These images were exported as 24-bit tiff files with 8-bit gray value data, and mean gray values (MGVs) were measured and compared. Image gray value (IGV) in each image was calculated for statistical analysis. Immediately scanned pixel data were used as baseline for comparison. Statistical analysis was performed by ANOVA and use of Dunnett's multiple comparison test (P \ 0.05). Results There were no significant differences for up to 1000 exposures, and no significant difference was observed among images scanned with a delay of up to 3 h in new and used IPs. There was no significant difference between new and used IPs.

Could the radiographic image quality be affected by the excessive use of the photostimulable phosphor plate?

“…Previous studies that motivated the present research also employed objective analyses to evaluate the effects of excessive PSP use on image quality 4 , 8 , 9 . Ergün et al analyzed the image quality of radiographs acquired with the Digora Optime system after 200 acquisitions through a subtraction method and the measurement of the mean of gray values 9 .…”

“…In contrast, Matsuda et al acquired 1000 radiographs of an aluminum step-wedge with a Digora Optime PSP system 4 . Their results revealed no significant difference among the mean of gray values located in predetermined ROIs on the image of the steps of the aluminum device, partly disagreeing with the present findings.…”

“…In dentistry, digital systems are divided in photostimulable phosphor plates (PSP) and solid-sensors 1 . PSP receptors are distinguished from solid sensors by the thin structure, flexibility, and absence of an electrical cord 1 - 4 . Other advantages of PSP receptors are the sizes available (similar to conventional films) and the wider dynamic range 5 , 6 .…”

Correction of intraoral radiography with dual imaging plates using enlargement of the horizontal direction with division into 12 blocks

“…The IP itself can be reused 200-1,000 times or more [7][8][9]. During intraoral radiography, operations such as insertion of the IP into the oral cavity, encapsulation and removal of the plastic cover to prevent saliva and infection, and reading by a laser scan [5] often result in adhesion of adhesive from the plastic covers and scratches on the IP surface.…”