# A two-dimensional antiscatter grid for dental cone beam computed tomography

> **NIH NIH R41** · M2 TECHNOLOGIES LLC · 2021 · $196,573

## Abstract

Project summary
Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) is a commonly used 3D x-ray imaging modality in dental and
craniofacial imaging. While CBCT is primarily employed in evaluating bony anatomy in 3D, soft tissues are often
poorly visualized in dental CBCT images. Moreover, tissue densities cannot be extracted accurately from CBCT
images. The main culprit behind this problem is scattered radiation. Scattered x-rays emanating from the patient
are registered by the x-ray sensor, severely degrading the fidelity of image signals.
Thus, in this project, we propose a novel two-dimensional antiscatter grid (2D grid) to substantially improve the
dental CBCT image quality. Our proposed 2D grid will attenuate scattered x-rays effectively, while transmitting
primary, or useful, x-rays to the image sensor. Once successfully implemented, our 2D grid will provide
significantly improved soft tissue visualization, accurate bone density measurement, and will reduce image
artifacts. Alternatively, our 2D grid can reduce imaging radiation dose while providing comparable contrast-to-
noise ratio with respect to current dental CBCT images.
To implement our proposed 2D grid technology, (1) we will investigate the optimal physical characteristics of 2D
grids to achieve effective scatter suppression and high primary transmission. (2) We will evaluate the
improvement in CBCT image quality provided by 2D grid in phantom imaging experiments.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10258749
- **Project number:** 1R41DE030039-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** M2 TECHNOLOGIES LLC
- **Principal Investigator:** Cem Altunbas
- **Activity code:** R41 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $196,573
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-09-21 → 2023-09-21

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10258749

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10258749, A two-dimensional antiscatter grid for dental cone beam computed tomography (1R41DE030039-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10258749. Licensed CC0.

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