Observation of Newly Formed Bone Around Implants Using Parametric X-ray

Abstract

Succesful dental implantation requires high osseointegration of the implant with the bone tissue that should continue for many years after implantation. Many studies on bone formation around implant have used histological evaluation, which is limited because it is qualitative. Even the information obtained using of back-scattered electron microscopic imaging are not sufficiently detailed. The purpose of this study is to determine if parametric X-ray radiation (PXR) could be used to obtain more quantitative information on newly formed bone around implants. Ti alloy implants grit-blasted with apatitic abrasive inserted in surgically created defects in rabbit tibia were retrieved after 2 weeks. Implant and tibia bone were imbedded in osteoresin, polished and sectioned (50μm) and examined using PXR.
Results showed that resolution of bone transmission images from PXR depended on the wavelength: wavelength set at 0.954A (13 KeV) did not show the newly formed bone around implants, but at wavelength set at 1.771A (7KeV) showed high resolution and clearly differentiated cortical bone from newly formed bone around implants.
This study demonstrated that hard tissue structure X-ray image observation with a high resolution was possible using PXR apparatuses, one of which was installed in the Laboratory for Electron Beam Research and Application (LEBRA) Institute of Quantum Science, Nihon University (LEBRA-PXR).