White Paper: Advantages of Volumetric Cone Beam Imaging for Orthopaedic Extremity Exams

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Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) is a variant of traditional computed tomography (CT) and was first described in the late 1970s. The main difference between the two approaches is the volume of the object that is imaged at one time. In traditional CT, a narrow slice of the patient is imaged with a “fan beam” of X-rays. To image an extended volume of the anatomy via CT, the patient must be moved through the fan beam of x-rays as it rotates around the patient multiple times.  This is known as spiral CT. In contrast, in CBCT, a large-area detector images an extended volume of the patient in a single rotation.  This significantly reduces the complexity of the system design by removing the need for “slip ring” technology that is essential for traditional CT systems.  This is illustrated in the white paper copied below.

The Carestream CBCT system featured in this white paper was specifically developed to image extremities (hands/wrists, elbows, knees, feet/ankles), and utilized a number of unique capabilities related to patient workflow, data acquisition and volume reconstruction. This paper highlights some of the distinguishing features of application-specific CBCT imaging systems, such as the unique ability to image weight bearing extremities (feet, ankles and knees),  something that is not possible with traditional CT.

You can click the image below to read and download the white paper, “The Advantages of Volumetric Cone Beam Imaging for Orthopaedic Extremity Exams.”

Carestream OnSight 3D Extremity System received FDA 510(k) clearance in September 2016.

John Yorkston, PhD, Senior Research Scientist, Clinical Applications Research, Carestream.