Detection of non-cavitated approximal caries lesions in digital images from seven solid-state receptors with particular focus on task-specific enhancement filters. An ex vivo study in human teeth

The aim of this study was to compare detection of non-cavitated approximal caries lesions in images from seven solid-state intraoral digital receptors, with particular focus on two task-specific enhancement filters. One hundred and sixty approximal non-cavitated surfaces were radiographed under standardized conditions using the following seven intraoral solid-state digital receptors: two CMOS systems, Schick CDR-APS, and Kodak RVGui; and five CCD systems: Visualix, VistaRay, Dixi2, Sidexis, and Dr. Suni Plus. The Kodak RVGui digital images were captured with two task-specific, predefined enhancement filters ("dento-enamel" and "periodontal"). Eight observers examined the digital images for the presence or absence of approximal carious lesions. The teeth were subsequently sectioned for histological analysis, which served as the "gold standard" for the radiographic examination and allowed for a calculation of sensitivity, specificity, and overall accuracy. Both RVG modalities obtained the highest sensitivity values, which were significantly higher than with Visualix, Sidexis, and VistaRay images (all P 0.05).