Imaging of human tooth enamel using ultrasound

Author

Culjat, M. ; Singh, R.S. ; Yoon, D.C. ; Brown, E.R.

Author_Institution

Sch. of Eng. & Appl. Sci., Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Volume

22

Issue

4

fYear

2003

fDate

4/1/2003 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

526

Lastpage

529

Abstract

This paper reports the results of a complete circumferential scan of a human tooth and its underlying dentino-enamel junction using ultrasound at frequencies in the 10-MHz range. The imagery shows clearly a two-dimensional contour of the dentino-enamel junction with a depth and lateral resolution of approximately 100 μm and 750 μm, respectively. The resulting sonograph is compared with an optical micrograph of the same tooth to verify the accuracy of the ultrasonic technique. The results are a significant step toward the biolocation of submillimeter size features within the tooth volume.

Keywords

biomedical ultrasonics; dentistry; image registration; image resolution; medical image processing; 10 MHz; biolocation; complete circumferential scan; dentino-enamel junction; depth; human tooth enamel; lateral resolution; optical micrograph; sonograph; submillimeter size features; tooth volume; two-dimensional contour; ultrasound imaging; Acoustic signal detection; Biomedical imaging; Computed tomography; Dentistry; Diagnostic radiography; Humans; Image resolution; Optical imaging; Teeth; Ultrasonic imaging; Dental Enamel; Dentin; Humans; Image Enhancement; Molar, Third; Ultrasonography;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Medical Imaging, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0278-0062

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/TMI.2003.809141

Filename

1200928