Single exposure dual energy imaging in intra-oral radiography

The dual energy imaging technique was applied to intra-oral radiography to allow accurate measurement of the bone mineral content without hindrance from the soft tissues. A pair of intra-oral films separated with an inter-film filter was used in a conventional radiographic system, and an aluminum equivalent image was decomposed from these images by computerized image processing. The optimum thickness of copper or tin inter-film filters for use in the single exposure dual energy imaging was investigated by computer simulation and experimental studies. In addition, the accuracy of bone mineral content measurement by this method was also investigated.