Image enhancement of digital periapical radiographs according to diagnostic tasks

PURPOSE: This study was performed to investigate the effect of image enhancement of periapical radiographs according to the diagnostic task. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eighty digital intraoral radiographs were obtained from patients and classified into four groups according to the diagnostic tasks of dental caries, periodontal diseases, periapical lesions, and endodontic files. All images were enhanced differently by using five processing techniques. Three radiologists blindly compared the subjective image quality of the original images and the processed images using a 5-point scale. RESULTS: There were significant differences between the image quality of the processed images and that of the original images (P<0.01) in all the diagnostic task groups. Processing techniques showed significantly different efficacy according to the diagnostic task (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: Image enhancement affects the image quality differently depending on the diagnostic task. And the use of optimal parameters is important for each diagnostic task.