(An) intraoral miniature X-ray tube based on carbon nanotube for dental radiography

Abstract

A miniature X-ray tube using a carbon nanotube electron emitter has been employed for the novel dental radiography. The CNT-based miniature X-ray tube is placed inside a mouth while X-ray sensors are outside a mouth in the dental radiography. The positions of an X-ray source and a sensor are reversed compared to a conventional dental radiography system. The diameter and the length of the CNT-based miniature X-ray tube are 7 mm and 47 mm, respectively. The miniature X-ray tube is operated in a negative high-voltage mode in which the X-ray target is electrically grounded. In addition, X-rays are generated only to the teeth directions using a collimator while X-rays generated to other directions are shielded. Consequently, X-ray images of 5 neighboring teeth as well as left and right molar images are obtained by a single X-ray shot of the miniature X-ray tube.