Medical Physics and Engineering, 1st Floor Bexley Wing, St James's University Hospital, Leeds, LS9 7TF.
Br Dent J. 2011 Aug 26;211(4):167-70. doi: 10.1038/sj.bdj.2011.676.
Image processing of digital X-ray images is known to have the potential to produce artefacts that may mimic pathology. A study was conducted at a UK dental radiology conference to demonstrate this effect in dentistry.
Sixteen digital X-rays of single teeth containing restorations were randomly presented in both unprocessed and processed formats to an auditorium of 42 participants. Participants interactively scored each image on a scale from 1-5 where 1 was definitely no pathology and 5 was definitely pathology. The display conditions were confirmed for each participant using a validated threshold contrast test.
The results show that 52% (81/157) of responses at level 1 for the unprocessed images changed to levels 4 or 5 after image processing.
This study illustrates the potential for image processing artefacts to mimic pathology particularly at high contrast boundaries and introduces the risk of unnecessary interventions. In order to minimise this risk, it is recommended that for digital radiographs containing pathology relating to high contrast boundaries, non-related high contrast features such as unrelated restorations or tooth/bone margins are also considered to exclude the possibility of artefact. If there is doubt, reference should be made to the unprocessed data.
已知数字 X 射线图像的图像处理有可能产生模仿病理学的伪影。在英国牙科放射学会议上进行了一项研究，以证明这种效果在牙科中的存在。
将包含修复体的 16 张单个牙齿的数字 X 射线随机以未处理和处理的格式呈现给 42 名参与者的礼堂。参与者在 1-5 的范围内对每张图像进行互动评分，其中 1 表示绝对没有病理学，5 表示绝对有病理学。使用经过验证的阈值对比度测试为每个参与者确认显示条件。
结果表明，在未处理图像中，81/157（52%）的级别 1 反应在图像处理后变为 4 级或 5 级。
这项研究说明了图像处理伪影有可能模仿病理学，特别是在高对比度边界处，并引入了不必要干预的风险。为了最大程度地降低这种风险，建议对于包含与高对比度边界相关的病理学的数字射线照片，还应考虑与无关的高对比度特征，例如无关的修复体或牙齿/骨骼边缘，以排除伪影的可能性。如果有疑问，应参考未处理的数据。
