Abstract
Purpose: Facial trauma is increasing along with increasing popularity in sports, and increasing exposure to crimes or traffic accidents. Compared to the 3D CT of 1990s, the latest CT has made significant improvement thus resulting in higher accuracy of diagnosis. The objective of this study is to compare 64 channel 3 dimensional volume CT(3D VCT) with conventional 3D CT in the diagnosis and treatment of facial bone fractures. Methods: 45 patients with facial trauma were examined by 3D VCT from Jan. 2006 to Feb. 2007. 64 channel 3D VCT which consists of 64 detectors produce axial images of 0.625 mm slice and it scans 175 mm per second. These images are transformed into 3 dimensional image using software Rapidia 2.8. The axial image is reconstructed into 3 dimensional image by volume rendering method. The image is also reconstructed into coronal or sagittal image by multiplanar reformatting method. Results: Contrasting to the previous 3D CT which formulates 3D images by taking axial images of 1-2 mm, 64 channel 3D VCT takes 0.625 mm thin axial images to obtain full images without definite step ladder appearance. 64 channel 3D VCT is effective in diagnosis of thin linear bone fracture, depth and degree of fracture deviation. Conclusion: In its expense and speed, 3D VCT is superior to conventional 3D CT. Owing to its ability to reconstruct full images regardless of the direction using 2 times higher resolution power and 4 times higher speed of the previous 3D CT, 3D VCT allows for accurate evaluation of the exact site and deviation of fine fractures.