Influence of exposure factors on the variability of CBCT voxel values: a phantom study

Objectives:To assess the influence of milliamperage and kilovolt peak (kVp) on the variability of cone beam CT (CBCT) voxel values.Methods:CBCT scans were obtained from radiographic phantoms in varying concentrations of dipotassium hydrogen phosphate solutions (200–1200 mg ml−1) under different protocols of milliamperage and kVp. In addition, scans were performed with and without a dental implant and exo-mass. The variability of CBCT voxel values was measured on each scan, and factorial analysis of variance and the post hoc Tukey test were performed (α = 0.05). Linear regression was performed to assess the relationship between voxel value variability and dipotassium hydrogen phosphate concentration.Results:milliamperage and the presence of a dental implant did not produce significant interference (p = 0.28 and 0.87, respectively) in voxel value variability. Scans at the highest kVp value presented a significant reduction (p ≤ 0.0001) in voxel value variability when only exo-mass was not present. Voxel val...