[pt] Ensaios não-destrutivos são técnicas utilizadas na inspeção de materiais e equipamentos sem danificá-los, sendo executados nas etapas de fabricação, construção, montagem e manutenção. Constituem uma das principais ferramentas do controle e garantia da qualidade de materiais e produtos, sendo largamente utilizados nos setores petróleo/petroquímico, químico, aeronáutico, aeroespacial, siderúrgico, naval, eletromecânico, papel e celulose, entre outros. Representam métodos capazes de proporcionar informações sobre defeitos, características tecnológicas do material, ou ainda, monitoração da degradação em serviço de componentes, equipamentos e estruturas, o que permite o uso de ações de extensão de suas vidas úteis. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi comparar a adequação de diferentes técnicas não destrutivas na detecção e estimativa da dimensão de trincas de fadiga, nucleadas e propagadas intencionalmente, em material estrutural. Para tal, corpos de provas cilíndricos do aço 42CrMo4 com um entalhe em V sofreram carregamentos cíclicos até diferentes números de ciclos, o que proporcionou diferentes tamanhos de trinca. O comprimento das trincas passantes foi monitorado por meio de lupa posicionada na lateral do corpo de prova. Após a etapa de nucleação e propagação das trincas de fadiga, todos os corpos de prova foram inspecionados com emprego das técnicas de Ultrassom Convencional, Ultrassom Phased Array e Radiografia Digital, para permitir a indicação das trincas de fadiga e o estabelecimento de suas dimensões. Terminada as inspeções, os corpos de prova foram resfriados em nitrogênio líquido e fraturados com aplicação de uma carga de flexão, o que permitiu a visualização das superfícies das trincas. Em seguida, as trincas foram medidas visualmente com o auxílio de uma lupa, o que permitiu comparar as indicações (virtual) de defeitos nos corpos de prova com a existência (real) dos mesmos e, ainda correlacionar as dimensões indicadas nas inspeções com aquelas medidas nas superfícies das trincas. Neste contexto, todas as técnicas se mostraram adequadas para a indicação de defeitos. Além disso, para trincas curtas, o Ultrassom Phased Array foi a técnica que apresentou a melhor suscetibilidade para o dimensionamento de descontinuidades, enquanto que a Radiografia Digital se mostrou mais eficiente para trincas mais longas. / [en] Non-destructive tests are techniques used in material and equipment inspection without permanent damage, applied in the stages of manufacture, construction, assembly and maintenance. They are one of the main tools to control and insure the quality of materials and products, with widely applications in oil / petrochemical, chemical, aeronautical, aerospace, steel industry, naval, electromechanical industries. They represent with capacity of providing information about defects, technological characteristics of the material, or monitoring the degradation in service of components, equipment and structures, which allows the use of useful live extensions in service. The objective of this research was to compare the application of different non-destructive techniques in the detection and size estimation of fatigue cracks, nucleated and propagated intentionally, in structural material. For this purpose, cylindrical specimens of 42CrMo4 steel with a V-notch were subjected to cyclic loading with different cycle numbers, which provided different crack sizes. The length of the cracks was monitored by a magnifying glass positioned on the specimen surface. After the crack nucleation and propagation, all specimens were subjected to non-destructive tests making use of Conventional Ultrasound, Phased Array Ultrasound and Digital Radiography, in order to provide crack indications and crack dimensions. After the inspections, the specimens were cooled down in nitrogen and fractured in three point bending to promote opened crack surfaces. In the sequence, the cracks were measured using a magnifying glass, which allowed a comparison between the indicated and measured defects. In this context, all techniques were adequate for crack indications. On the other hands, for short cracks, the Phased Array Ultrasound was the technique that presented the best susceptibility for estimate the discontinuity dimensions, while Digital Radiography proved to be more efficient for longer cracks.

Implementation of electronic health records by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health has led to the implementation of electronic dental records (EDRs) and digital radiography in dental offices. The purpose of this study was to determine the state of the implementation and usage of EDRs and digital radiographs by the private general and pediatric dental practices in Mississippi as well as reasons why the dental practices are not moving forward with the advanced technology. A survey was emailed to 712 dental practices: 116 responded (16% response rate), and 104 consented to participate (89.66%). Results indicated dental practices in Mississippi using EDRs was 46.07%, EDRs with paper records was 42.70%, and only paper records was 11.24%. Results indicated dental practices using digital radiography was 76.40%, conventional radiography was 13.48%, and both was 10.11%. Common reasons for not advancing were cost, insufficient training, computer/software issues, and “too old.”

This paper describes a MATLAB application with the main purpose of the simulation of noise components and noise elimination methods of Digital Radiography. The main parts of simulator are the model of a scene, procedures for loading the noise components to image data and methods for image processing. Various methods are employed depending on the type of noise. Subtraction techniques are used for the elimination of structural noise. The physical noise suppression is obtained using several methods of cumulation and Pixel Shift is used to reduce motion artifacts caused by the existence of moving noise. The techniques of superposition highlight the areas of interest in an image. Included are also auxiliary procedures for simulator running and presentation of final data. The model and the presented application can be used mainly for educational purposes as a powerful didactic tool.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Accurate determination of working length during endodontic therapy is a crucial step in achieving a predictable outcome. This is determined by the use of electronic apex locators, tactile perception, and knowledge of average tooth lengths and/or dental radiography whether digital or conventional is utilized. It is the aim of this study to determine if there is a difference between Schick digital radiography and Kodak Insight conventional film in accurately determining working lengths when modifying exposure time and source-film/sensor distance. Twelve teeth with size 15 K-flex files at varying known lengths from the anatomical apex were mounted in a resin-plaster mix to simulate bone density. Each tooth was radiographed while varying the source-film/sensor distance and exposure 122 time. Four dental professionals examined the images and films independently. Ten images and 10 films were selected at random and re-examined to determine each examiner?s repeatability. The error in working length was calculated as the observed value minus the known working length for each tooth type. A mixed-effects, full-factorial analysis of variance (ANOVA) model was used to model the error in working length. Included in the ANOVA model were fixed effects for type of image, distance, exposure time, and all two-way and three-way interactions. The repeatability of each examiner for each film type was assessed by estimating the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC). The repeatability of each examiner on digital film was good with ICCs ranging from 0.67 to 1.0. Repeatability on the conventional film was poor with ICCs varying from -0.29 to 0.55.We found there was an overall difference between the conventional and digital films (p < 0.001). After adjusting for the effects of distance and exposure time, the error in the working length from the digital image was 0.1 mm shorter (95% CI: 0.06, 0.14) than the error in the working length from the film image. There was no difference among distances (p = 0.999) nor exposure time (p = 0.158) for film or images. Based on the results of our study we conclude that although there is a statistically significant difference, there is no clinically significant difference between digital radiography and conventional film when exposure time and source-film/sensor distance are adjusted.

In einer initialen Studie verglichen wir das XQi Revolution, welches auf indirektem CsI (Cäsium Iodit) /a: Si (amorphes Silizium) basiert mit einem direkten Digitalröntgengerät a: SE (amorphes Selen) an einem CDRAD-Phantom bei vier unterschiedlichen Eintrittsdosen und an einem TRG-Phantom bei zwei unterschiedlichen Eintrittsdosen. Mittels des berechneten Bildqualitätsfaktors des CDRAD-Phantoms konnten wir zeigen, daß das indirekte im Vergleich zum direkten System bei niedrigeren Dosen eine bessere Detailerkennungsrate aufweist. Ein positiver Trend läßt sich auch beim TRG-Phantom darstellen. In einer weiteren Studie untersuchten wir anhand von Patientenbildern die Bildqualität des Dual Energy Systems bei zwei unterschiedlichen Dosisniveaus, der Standarddosis sowie einer doppelten Dosis, was einem Speed-Äquivalent von 400/1000 bzw. 200/500 entspricht. Bei hoher Dosis konnten wir eine signifikante Reduktion des Rauschens im Knochen- und Weichteilbild feststellen, gleichzeitig nahmen die Störungen durch Bewegungsartefakte signifikant zu. Im Anschluß verglichen wir die Erkennbarkeit verkalkter Lungenpathologien im Standard P/A Bild mit zusätzlichem Einsatz von Dual Energy. Als Goldstandard erfolgte der sichere Nachweis der Pathologien im CT. Bei zusätzlichem Einsatz von Dual Energy konnten wir eine signifikante Steigerung der Sensitivität erkennen. Dieses Ergebnis wurde durch den Qualitätsfaktor, der die Bildeigenschaften kumulativ beschreibt, bestätigt. Weiterhin untersuchten wir analog die Erkennbarkeit von nichtverkalkten Lungenrundherden. Auch bei diesen Pathologien ließ sich ein positiver Trend der Sensitivität und Spezifität bei zusätzlichem Einsatz von Dual Energy erkennen. Zusätzlich stieg die durchschnittliche Entscheidungssicherheit der Gutachter signifikant an. Damit bietet die Dual Energy Subtraktionstechnik eine wertvolle Ergänzung in der Diagnostik verkalkter und nichtverkalkter Lungenpathologien eine wertvolle Ergänzung zum Standardröntgen. / First study assess and quantify the image quality at two dose levels for an amorphous Silicon (a:Si) Cesium Iodide (CsI) flat panel system compared with a direct amorphous Selenium (a:Se) digital radiography system. Image quality of a:Si flat panel digital radiography proved to be superior to a:Se drum digital radiography using low-dose settings. Second study assess the image quality of subtracted soft tissue and bone images of a CsIdetector-based dual-energy system for chest radiography at varying dose levels. Radiation dose did not significantly influence the perception of dual-energy image quality. Next study assess the value of dual-energy chest radiography obtained using a cesium iodide flat-panel detector in addition to standard posteroanterior chest radiography for the detection of calcified chest abnormalities. When dual-energy images were added, sensitivity increased significantly. Brunner and Langer’s test revealed a highly significant difference between posteroanterior chest radiography and dual-energy imaging in the detection of calcified chest abnormalities. Dual-energy images added to standard posteroanterior chest radiographs significantly improve the detection of calcified chest lesions. Last study compare the sensitivity and specificity of digital chest radiography alone with digital chest radiography combined with dual-energy chest radiography in the detection of small non-calcified pulmonary nodules. Standard and dual-energy radiographs were obtained with a flat-panel digital chest system. The increase of nodule detection overall as well as for different size categories was significant. The increase of the confidence level rating was also significant. Dual energy added to standard posteroanterior chest radiography significantly improves the sensitivity, specificity, and confidence in detection of small non-calcified pulmonary nodules. Dual-energy subtraction has the potential to become a future routine application in chest radiography.