Image sharpening boosts landmark visibility on low-dose lateral cephalometric radiographs in phantom study

Markedly sharpened 60%- and 40%-dose cephalometric radiographs showed significantly higher reference-point visibility than standard 100%-dose images in a phantom study, suggesting post-acquisition sharpening may enable dose reduction.

• Phantom study using an adult human bone skull evaluated a non-AI sharpening algorithm (Medical Image Enhancer) at 60%, 40%, and 20% of routine dose.
• For markedly sharpened images, visibility was significantly higher for all reference points at 60% and 40% doses, and for several points at 20% dose (Scheffé's paired comparisons).
• Limitations include a phantom-only design with six reviewers, so clinical translation to patient imaging requires validation in vivo.

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