Vertical magnification correction in vertical dual-exposure panoramic radiography

Purpose: To clarify the magnification error caused by the degree of tilt of the incisor and the elevation of the X-ray focus position, and the verification effect of magnification correction when performing vertical dual-exposure panoramic radiography. Methods: Panoramic radiographic images of a phantom embedding 26 steel balls were taken at different heights (0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 mm) and tilt angles (0°, 10°, 20°, and 30°) to evaluate vertical magnification in each condition. Error and correlation coefficients in the vertical magnifications were calculated between the measured and theoretical magnification values. Results: The more the steel ball phantom was tilted, the more the images of the uppermost steel balls were laterally stretched. In the vertical direction, image magnification also influenced the tilt angle of the object in the incisal region. The range of error in vertical magnification was −0.350.30%. The Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient between the measured and theoretical magnification value was 0.983. Conclusion: Vertical magnification correction has the potential to improve image quality when merging panoramic radiographs in vertical dualexposure panoramic radiography.