[Clinical application of digital TV tomosynthesis to disorders of the wrist and their post-operative evaluation].

The clinical utility of digital TV tomosynthesis was assessed in 13 patients with chronic disorders of the wrist and the first carpometacarpal joints, and a post-operative evaluation was carried out. The disorders included nonunion of the scaphoid in five patients, Kienböck's disease in four, subluxation of the distal radioulnar joint in two, and osteoarthrosis of the first carpometacarpal joint in two. The total time needed to obtain two sets of tomographs of a wrist by digital TV tomosynthesis was about 10 minutes, or approximately one third of the time required with conventional methods. The total radiation exposure in obtaining all tomographs of one direction with digital TV tomosynthesis was less than that in obtaining only one tomograph with conventional methods. Digital TV tomosynthetic images were judged superior to conventional tomographs by four orthopedic surgeons and four radiologists, because tomographic blur was reduced in part by a spatial frequency filter processing. Clinically, digital TV tomosynthesis was very helpful in evaluating nonunion of the scaphoid and Kienböck's disease, especially in their post-operative conditions with metallic fixative devices. Digital TV tomosynthesis was found to be a fast, feasible and inexpensive method with low radiation exposure for evaluating disorders of the wrist.