Spatial frequency domain analysis of a commercially available digital dental detector

•A dental digital detector was evaluated in spatial frequency domain.•The DQE was calculated for various exposure conditions.•The resolution was found better than 100 μm.•The optimum exposure conditions were found below 133 μGy. X-ray detectors are used in medical imaging for the representation of diagnostic information. Digital detector performance is evaluated through appropriate parameters in the spatial domain (i.e. contrast, noise or resolution) and in the frequency domain. Dental radiography is a domain of medical imaging. The purpose of this work is the examination of a commercially available digital dental imaging detector through spatial frequency domain parameters. The available detector was a commercially available image receptor SCHICK CDR, working in indirect mode that is a scintillator coupled to a Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) photoreceptor. The detector was irradiated at an X-ray system with 60 kVp and 70 kVp tube voltages utilized in intraoral radiography. The detector linearity, Modulation Transfer Function (MTF), Normalized Noise Power Spectrum (NNPS) and Detective Quantum Efficiency (DQE) were measured according to literature. The Entrance Surface Air Kerma (ESAK) was measured with an RTI PIRANHA X-ray multimeter. The images were evaluated as presented to the dentist by the detector software, in 12bit format. The resolution of the detector was found better than 100 μm. The DQE curves suggested optimum exposure conditions below 133 μGy.