Aplicação das unidades Hounsfield em imagens de tomografia computadorizada de feixe cônico

Abstract

Despite the many indications of cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) in dentistry, there is no consensus regarding the accuracy and reliability of bone quality assessment, through Hounsfield Units (HU). The aim of this study was to evaluate, through a systematic review of the literature, the main results of studies comparing various tissues in multislice CT (MSCT) and CBCT scans, using the HU as the unit of measurement. To this end, a search was conducted in the Medline (PubMed) database using the keywords "cone beam computed tomography", "cone beam tomography", "CBCT", "Hounsfield unit", and "Hounsfield". Articles were initially excluded by reading the title and abstract, and were later excluded after reading the full text. The data from the selected sample (n = 8) were tabulated and compared. The results obtained regarding the application of HU in CBCT were divergent, with some authors directly applying HU in CBCT, others developing correction factors for this comparison, and still others invalidating the use of this unit in CBCT. Only one study concluded that is possible to directly apply HU in CBCT, without damaging the evaluation of tissue densities. In this way, it’s possible to affirm that a new approach is necessary for the development of future work in this line and that the attempt to apply HU in CBCT should be abandoned.