Abstract
We develop a computerized system for evaluation of alloimplant procedures in dentistry from x-ray images. The goal of this system is to help clinicians make more accurate evaluation of their surgical procedures as well as to guide them in selecting the most appropriate alloimplant material in an objective manner. A study was conducted whereby three types of alloimplant materials were inserted in surgical defects in the tibia of dogs. Each animal had four such defects for the three different materials in addition to a control defect that was intentionally left empty. The defect locations were imaged using x-rays at periodic intervals starting immediately after the operation. The animals were sacrificed at different times after the surgical operation. The acquired images were paired with their correct diagnosis and split into two sets representing the learning and testing data for our computerized system. The plain x-ray films were scanned using a standard film digitizer and standardized in size and intensity using a step wedge that was imaged beside the region of interest. A set of first and second order textural and radiometric parameters were extracted from each alloimplant location outlined by the radiographer to describe its clinical status in a quantitative manner.