 Original Article

 Published: 18 January 2015

Effect of display monitor devices on intra-oral

radiographic caries diagnosis

 Kazuyuki Araki, 

 Mamiko Fujikura & 

 Tsukasa Sano 

Clinical Oral Investigations volume 19, pages1875–1879(2015)Cite this article

 327 Accesses
 6 Citations
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Abstract
Objectives
Recent developments in digital computer technology have enabled radiological
diagnosis to be performed using a monitor screen. In medical radiography, the
importance of monitors has been shown in many diseases. Digital imaging and
communication in medicine (DICOM)-compatible monitors are widely used.
However, the effect of monitors on the diagnosis of oral disease has not yet
been clarified and remains controversial. The aims of this study are to
compare the caries diagnostic ability between DICOM monitors and other
monitors and to examine if monitor capability affects the diagnosis.

Materials and methods

One hundred proximal surfaces of 50 extracted human upper premolar teeth
were used as specimens. Intra-oral radiographs of all specimens were taken
digitally. Three types of monitors were compared in terms of caries diagnostic
ability: a DICOM standard-compatible monitor, a standardized personal
computer (PC) monitor, and a tablet PC. Six oral radiologists diagnosed each
radiograph independently. Areas under the receiver operating characteristic
(ROC) curve were generated and compared.
Results
Area under the ROC curve (AUC) of the DICOM monitor, PC monitor, and
tablet PC was 0.68147, 0.67002, and 0.60189, respectively. There was no
significant difference between the DICOM monitor and the PC monitor, but
the tablet PC showed significantly lower accuracy. There were no significant
differences among the monitors for dentin caries (p > 0.05).

Conclusions
DICOM-compatible monitors and PC monitors have similar capabilities, but
tablet PCs showed lower diagnostic accuracy, especially for superficial caries.

Clinical relevance
Appropriate monitors are needed for radiographic diagnosis on monitor
screens.

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