How Does Ambient Light Affect the Image Quality of Phosphor Plate Digital Radiography? A Quantitative Analysis Using Contemporary Digital Radiographic Systems

Matheus Sampaio-Oliveira, Luiz Eduardo Marinho-Vieira, Victor Aquino Wanderley, Gláucia Maria Bovi Ambrosano, Ruben Pauwels, Matheus L. Oliveira*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaperJournal articleResearchpeer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The aim of this study is to quantitatively evaluate the influence of the duration of ambient light exposure on the image quality of digital radiographs obtained with contemporary phosphor plate (PSP)-based systems. Radiographs of an aluminum step-wedge were obtained using VistaScan and Express systems at five X-ray exposure times: 0.10, 0.20, 0.32, 0.40, and 0.50 s; the resulting dose-area products were, respectively, 21.93, 43.87, 70.19, 87.75, and 109.6 mGycm2. Before PSP read-out, half of the sensitive surface of the PSP plates was exposed to ambient light for 5, 10, 30, 60, and 90 s. The effect of light exposure on brightness, contrast, contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and image saturation was compared using ANOVA with the Tukey test (α = 0.05). Ambient light exposure increased brightness and contrast and reduced CNR and SNR in PSP-based radiographs of contemporary digital systems. At the longest X-ray exposure times, ambient light exposure reduced the dark saturation (mean gray values ≤ 1) observed in Express. In conclusion, the negative effects of ambient light observed on the image quality of PSP-based radiographs are directly proportional to the duration of exposure. Clinicians should be aware of such harmful effects when handling and scanning PSP plates in bright environments.

Original languageEnglish
Article number8627
JournalSensors
Volume22
Issue22
Number of pages9
ISSN1424-8220
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2022

Keywords

  • digital dental radiography
  • image processing
  • light

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