11 February 2015 Assessment of natural enamel lesions with optical coherence tomography in comparison with microfocus x-ray computed tomography
Jorge Espigares, Alireza Sadr, Hidenori Hamba, Yasushi Shimada, Masayuki Otsuki, Junji Tagami, Yasunori Sumi
Author Affiliations +
Abstract
A technology to characterize early enamel lesions is needed in dentistry. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a noninvasive method that provides high-resolution cross-sectional images. The aim of this study is to compare OCT with microfocus x-ray computed tomography (μCT) for assessment of natural enamel lesions in vitro. Ten human teeth with visible white spot-like changes on the enamel smooth surface and no cavitation (ICDAS code 2) were subjected to imaging by μCT (SMX-100CT, Shimadzu) and 1300-nm swept-source OCT (Dental SS-OCT, Panasonic Health Care). In μCT, the lesions appeared as radiolucent dark areas, while in SS-OCT, they appeared as areas of increased signal intensity beneath the surface. An SS-OCT attenuation coefficient based on Beer–Lambert law could discriminate lesions from sound enamel. Lesion depth ranged from 175 to 606  μm in SS-OCT. A correlation between μCT and SS-OCT was found regarding lesion depth (R=0.81, p<0.001) and also surface layer thickness (R=0.76, p<0.005). The images obtained clinically in real time using the dental SS-OCT system are suitable for the assessment of natural subsurface lesions and their surface layer, providing comparable images to a laboratory high-resolution μCT without the use of x-ray.
© 2015 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) 2329-4302/2015/$25.00 © 2015 SPIE
Jorge Espigares, Alireza Sadr, Hidenori Hamba, Yasushi Shimada, Masayuki Otsuki, Junji Tagami, and Yasunori Sumi "Assessment of natural enamel lesions with optical coherence tomography in comparison with microfocus x-ray computed tomography," Journal of Medical Imaging 2(1), 014001 (11 February 2015). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JMI.2.1.014001
Published: 11 February 2015
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Cited by 31 scholarly publications.
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KEYWORDS
Optical coherence tomography

X-ray computed tomography

Minerals

Teeth

Signal attenuation

3D image processing

Dental caries

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