Cone-Beam Volumetric Imaging in Craniofacial Medicine

Few new technological developments have revolutionized medical diagnostics as extensively as has x-ray technology. Even before Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen officially announced his discovery on December 28, 1895, it was used among others by the Austrian physician Guido Holzknecht. With the development of x-ray computered tomography (CT) in the 1960s and its first use for clinical studies in 1972 by Sir Godfrey Hounsfield, radiological tomography attained widespread use and today is one of the essential imaging techniques in medical radiology. It is a technically mature and clinically widely accepted method and complements classical xray panoramic radiography in many areas. The development of spiral CT and the introduction of multislice detector systems in 1998 further accelerated CT techniques and led to the ability to acquire volume data. A subsequent development of CT technology, digital volume tomography, as we will refer to it in this bookchapter has been established in recent years. The technology is frequently used in craniofacial radiology because of its characteristic low radiation dose (1-2), high spatial resolution and lower cost compared with CT. Its technology and a lot of possible applications in craniofacial medicine are discussed in this chapter. Currently voxel-based craniofacial medicine and surgery are becoming increasingly popular. Furthermore they are a popular tool for diagnosing, planning, monitoring and evaluation of craniofacial morphology, growth and various treatment procedures. The aim of this work is: a. to describe the principles of Cone-Beam Tomography b. to make a brief description of the existing CBCT devices. c. to highlight the use of 3D diagnosis in craniofacial medicine.