Section of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology

Clinical Facility and Imaging Services

Clinical Facility

The main imaging facility of the Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology clinic is equipped for all conventional intraoral, panoramic, cephalometric and cone beam CT imaging procedures, and includes the usual supporting darkroom, workroom and reading room facilities. This facility is presently being converted to a completely digital clinic operation, interfaced with an electronic patient record. Our reading room has a fully operational diagnostic PACS workstation. CCD and PSP systems will be employed for all intraoral, cephalometric, panoramic and plain skull/hand imaging. Our CBCT instruments are a Hitachi CB Mercuray CBCT unit entered service in September, 2007, as part of a multidisciplinary diagnostic and treatment facility which employs 6”, 9” and 12” fields-of-view, and a Kodak 9000-3D small volume unit. We employ multiple freeware and proprietary software platforms for analyses of the DICOM files.

MRI studies of the temporomandibular joints, sialography, and CT studies for evaluation of maxillofacial pathology and assessment of genetic and developmental maxillofacial abnormalities are performed in collaboration with the Department of Diagnostic Imaging and Therapeutics (DDIT). DDIT presently has a 1.5T MRI units, and open MRI unit, functional MRI capabilities, PET imaging, extensive ultrasonography and nuclear medicine facilities, and three CT scanners, one of which is a32-slice, dual energy unit. The hospital is equipped with a Phillips-Stentor PACS system. One of the country's few tomotherapy units is operational in the Radiation Oncology Division.

Imaging Services

• Conventional film-based and forthcoming CCD and PSP intraoral imaging.
• Film-based and CCD and PSP digital panoramic imaging.
• Film-based and CCD and PSP digital cephalometric imaging.
• Small FOV and variable large FOV cone beam CT imaging.
• Digital sialography.
• Multi-slice, dual-energy CT imaging for maxillofacial prosthodontic treatment planning, paranasal sinus imaging and assessment of bony and soft tissue oral and paraoral lesions.
• MRI studies of temporomandibular joints, salivary glands, and soft-tissue lesions of the oral and paraoral structures.