Conclusion

Since X-ray imaging is by nature volumetric (each volume element through which the rays pass leaves a trace in the image proportional to its absorption coefficient), it is intrinsically 3D, but it took the contribution of digital techniques to take advantage of this characteristic. This step has now been definitively taken, with the introduction of flat digital detectors (FPDs) around 2000. 3D techniques, once reserved for CT scanners, are now being used on a wide range of traditional radiology equipment (tomosynthesis, especially in mammography, CBCT in dental surgery) and interventional radiology (C-arms, IGRT-type radiotherapy equipment). Practitioners are increasingly demanding access to 3D images, as they enable them to avoid the effects of tissue stacking that impair the legibility of a 2D image, for example in chest X-rays or mammography.

In addition to requiring...