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KMID : 1024020210510020107
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Imaging Science in Dentistry
2021 Volume.51 No. 2 p.107 ~ p.115
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Photoacoustic imaging of occlusal incipient caries in the visible and near-infrared range
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da Silva Evair Josino
de Miranda Erica Muniz
de Oliveira Mota Claudia Cristina Brainer
Das Avishek
Gomes Anderson Stevens Leonidas
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Abstract
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Purpose: This study aimed to demonstrate the presence of dental caries through a photoacoustic imaging system with visible and near-infrared wavelengths, highlighting the differences between the 2 spectral regions. The depth at which carious tissue could be detected was also verified.
Materials and Methods: Fifteen permanent molars were selected and classified as being sound or having incipient or advanced caries by visual inspection, radiography, and optical coherence tomography analysis prior to photoacoustic scanning. A photoacoustic imaging system operating with a nanosecond pulsed laser as the light excitation source at either 532 nm or 1064 nm and an acoustic transducer at 5 MHz was developed, characterized, and used. En-face and lateral (depth) photoacoustic signals were detected.
Results: The results confirmed the potential of the photoacoustic method to detect caries. At both wavelengths, photoacoustic imaging effectively detected incipient and advanced caries. The reconstructed photoacoustic images confirmed that a higher intensity of the photoacoustic signal could be observed in regions with lesions, while sound surfaces showed much less photoacoustic signal. Photoacoustic signals at depths up to 4 mm at both 532 nm and 1064 nm were measured.
Conclusion: The results presented here are promising and corroborate that photoacoustic imaging can be applied as a diagnostic tool in caries research. New studies should focus on developing a clinical model of photoacoustic imaging applications in dentistry, including soft tissues. The use of inexpensive light-emitting diodes together with a miniaturized detector will make photoacoustic imaging systems more flexible, user-friendly, and technologically viable.
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KEYWORD
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Diagnostic Imaging, Dental Caries, Photoacoustic Techniques, Tomography, Optical Coherence
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