CT DATA-ACQUISITION AS A BASIS FOR MODERN DIAGNOSIS AND THERAPY IN MAXILLOFACIAL SURGERY

More than 20 years after its introduction computed tomography has beco me a routine method in the diagnostic work-up of traumatic and neoplas tic disorders in maxillofacial surgery. Short acquisition times of 1 s ec per image reduce motion artifacts and permit increased numbers of p atient examinations. Different reconstruction algorithms allow specifi c evaluation of either osseous or soft tissue structures. By adjusting window center and window width the 2048 attenuation values can be tra nsformed into the visible gray scale. Single sequential slices - as em ployed in routine diagnosis of tumor patients - still yield the highes t image quality. Fast volume data acquisition associated with spiral s canning proves to be of special benefit in trauma patients. The result ing data set can be used for reconstruction of single slices, 2-dimens ional (2D) reformated images in all planes and 3D surface rendering.