Objectives: Technological advances in radiography have attempted to improve upon the standard of traditional x-ray imaging. One such advancement is a new software platform, LumenIQ's ImageIQ. This software enhances conventional digitized radiography by using computer generated 3-D topographical mapping to add depth to a two dimensional film. Conventional radiography contains 256 scales of gray, of which the human eye can only discern 32 gray scales. The software converts the scales of gray to topographical height values, which are easier for the eye to see. Therefore, it is hypothesized that this software platform allows the human eye to perceive more information from a conventional radiograph. The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether a preference exists for computer generated 3-D topographical renderings versus conventional radiographs. Methods: 34 dental practitioners evaluated 12 cases consisting of various types of radiographs depicting oral pathology. The evaluators were shown the conventional radiographs as well as the computer generated 3-D topographical renderings of each case and were asked to answer specific questions concerning each. Results: The panel of evaluators felt that the computer generated 3-D topographical rendering showed improved image clarity over the conventional radiograph in 5 out of the 12 cases with a 95% confidence interval. In addition, the panel felt that more detail was to be found in the 3-D topographical rendering than in the conventional radiograph in 6 out of the 12 cases with a 95% confidence interval. Conclusions: These results suggest that computer generated 3-D topographical renderings of conventional radiographs may provide a reliable diagnostic alternative to conventional two-dimensional radiographs.

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