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How many times can we use a phosphor plate? A preliminary study

S Ergün^*,1, P Güneri¹, D lgüy², M lgüy² and H Boyacolu³

¹Faculty of Dentistry, Department of Oral Diagnosis and Radiology, Ege University, Bornova 35100, Izmir, Turkey; ²Faculty of Dentistry, Department of Oral Diagnosis and Radiology, Yeditepe University, Göztepe, Ìstanbul, Turkey; ³Department of Statistics, Faculty of Science, Ege University, Bornova 35100, Izmir, Turkey

*Correspondence to: Dr Selin Ergün, Department of Oral Diagnosis and Radiology, Faculty of Dentistry, Ege University, Bornova 35100, Izmir, Turkey;. E-mail: selin.gogus{at}ege.edu.tr

Received 24 September 2007; revised 13 January 2008; accepted 27 January 2008

Objectives: Digital radiography has become a useful tool in daily dental practice due to the advances in imaging technologies. Charge coupled devices (CCDs) and photostimulable phosphor plates (PSPs) are currently in use for dental imaging; however, the longevity of PSPs in dental practice is not yet established. The aim of this study was to determine the service life of PSPs in a clinical setting.

Methods: Five unused PSPs were exposed with a conventional X-ray device and converted into digital images with Digora Optime (Soredex, Milwaukee, WI). These were recorded as the baseline images. Subsequent digital images of the plates were obtained after 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, 120, 140, 160, 180 and 200 exposures. All radiographic images were subtracted from the first digital image (baseline) and the mean grey values (MGVs) of the subtracted images were established using software. The data were grouped in 3 classes according to the number of exposures (20–80; 100–140; 160–200), and were analysed using variance analysis and ² tests.

Results: The MGVs of the subtracted images varied between 126.25 and 127.59, and the difference was not significant among the groups (P  =  0.11). However, the differences between the MGVs of the plates on each exposure settings were significantly different than those of the baseline image (P < 0.05).

Conclusions: The findings of this study revealed that even though a slight deterioration occurred after the first exposure, each plate can be used up to 200 times. Further studies are required to reach a more concrete conclusion.

Keywords: digital image, storage phosphor plates, subtraction radiography, durability