Near-infrared transillumination of teeth: measurement of a system performance

Lena Karlsson; Ana Marly Araújo Maia; Bernardo B. C. Kyotoku; Sofia Tranaeus; Anderson Stevens Leônidas Gomes; Walter Margulis

doi:10.1117/1.3427135

1 May 2010 Near-infrared transillumination of teeth: measurement of a system performance

Lena Karlsson, Ana Marly Araújo Maia, Bernardo B. C. Kyotoku, Sofia Tranaeus, Anderson Stevens Leônidas Gomes, Walter Margulis

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Journal of Biomedical Optics, Vol. 15, Issue 3, 036001 (May 2010). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.3427135

Abstract

Transillumination (TI) of dental enamel with near-infrared light is a promising nonionizing imaging method for detection of early caries lesion. Increased mineral loss (caries lesion) leads to increased scattering and absorption. Caries thus appear as dark regions because less light reaches the detector. The aim of this work was to characterize the performance of a TI system from the resolution of acquired images using the modulation transfer function at two wavelengths, 1.28 and 1.4 µm. Test charts with various values of spatial periods, mimicking a perfect caries lesion, were attached to tooth sections, followed by capture of the transmitted image, using both wavelengths. The sections were then consecutively reduced in thickness, and a sequence of all sizes of the test charts were used for repeatedly imaging procedures. The results show that the TI system can detect feature size of 250 µm with 30% modulation. From the information about how the image degrades as it propagates through enamel, we also examined the possibility of estimating the position of a simulated approximal caries lesion by comparing images obtained from the two sides of a tooth section.

©(2010) Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)

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Lena Karlsson, Ana Marly Araújo Maia, Bernardo B. C. Kyotoku, Sofia Tranaeus, Anderson Stevens Leônidas Gomes, and Walter Margulis "Near-infrared transillumination of teeth: measurement of a system performance," Journal of Biomedical Optics 15(3), 036001 (1 May 2010). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.3427135

Published: 1 May 2010

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