There are three main components to CBCT imaging: (1) image production, (2) visualization, and (3) interpretation. The introduction of CBCT imaging has heralded a shift from a two-dimensional to a volumetric approach in maxillofacial imaging. (Image of 3D Accuitomo 170 shown courtesy of J. Most CBCT units have a small “footprint” enabling in-office placement. A separate exposure parameter control panel may be displayed either on the computer screen or on the equipment itself (as shown).
#Exporting x rays galileos viewer generator#
During exposure, the generator and detector rotate fully or partially around the patient’s head. The detector may be a flat panel (this example) or image intensifier. The patient’s head is positioned and stabilized between the x-ray generator and detector by a head-holding apparatus. Imaging may be performed with the patient seated, supine, or standing. In the early 1990s, four technologic developments converged to facilitate construction of affordable CBCT units small enough to be used in the dental office for maxillofacial imaging:įIGURE 11-1 Example of CBCT unit. It uses a divergent cone-shaped or pyramid-shaped source of ionizing radiation and a two-dimensional area detector fixed on a rotating gantry to provide multiple sequential transmission images that are integrated directly, forming volumetric information ( Fig. CBCT imaging was initially developed commercially for angiography in the early 1980s. Principles of Cone-Beam Computed Tomographic ImagingĬone-beam computed tomographic (CBCT) imaging is the most significant technologic advance in maxillofacial imaging since the introduction of panoramic radiography.