Temporal bone: comparison of pluridirectional tomography and high resolution computed tomography.

The recent introduction of high resolution computed tomography (CT) capable of resolving delicate bony structures such as the temporal bone marks another significant advance in diagnostic imaging. This study was designed to compare the integrity of these new CT images, standard CT images, and conventional complex motion tomographic images against contact radiographs of sliced anatomic specimens. Temporal bones of three frozen cadaver heads were studied with complex motion tomograms at 1 mm intervals and contiguous CT scans at 1.5 mm intervals in axial, coronal, and sagittal projections. The heads were physically sectioned at 2 mm intervals in planes corresponding to the radiographic planes using a precise indexing and sawing system. The tomographic images were compared for information content to contact radiographs of the anatomic specimen sections. Conventional tomographic images and expanded number range target reconstruction CT images proved to be highly accurate. Standard CT reconstruction images were not. The probable clinical effectiveness of each method is discussed.