# Microstructural Evaluation of Dental Implant Success Using Micro-CT: A Comprehensive Review
## 2 Principles and Applications of Micro-CT in Dental Implant Evaluation  
Micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) is an imaging technique that employs non-destructive X-rays to visualize the three-dimensional characteristics of a sample [20; 21]. In dental implant placement, this technology can facilitate accurate assessment of bone morphology and implant placement. The use of micro-CT enables enhanced visualization of intricate anatomical structures, thereby optimizing implant placement and minimizing the incidence of surgical complications [19]. Furthermore, it facilitates the development of three-dimensional models, which can enhance pre-surgical planning processes [22]. In addition to being non-destructive, this technique also has a high resolution and good penetration depth, utilizing X-rays up to voxel sizes of 50-100 \(\upmu\)m, which is at least a million times smaller than the voxels commonly used in medical imaging for humans [23]. [PERSON] et al. (2021) have conducted research to quantify trabecular bone using both CBCT and micro-CT. The objective was to compare the results obtained from measuring trabecular bone using CBCT and micro-CT. The null hypothesis of this study is that there is no difference in the size obtained in the test. In this study, the researchers employed two CBCT devices with disparate resolutions: the VV-Veraviewpocs R100 (Morita, Tokyo, Japan), where the field of view (FOV) was 4 \(\times\) 4, the tube voltage was 75 kV, the tube current was 9 mA, and the voxel size was 0.125 \(\upmu\)m. The second device was the Prexion-3D (Prexion, Tokyo, Japan), with an FOV of 5 \(\times\) 5, a tube voltage of 90 kV, a tube current of 4 mA, and a voxel size of 0.125 \(\upmu\)m. The CBCT device used had a scan time of 37 s and a voxel size of 108 \(\upmu\)m. The micro-CT device employed was the SkyScan 1272 (Bruker, Billerica, MA, USA), with settings of 80 kV, 125 mA, and a voxel size of 16 \(\upmu\)m. However, null hypotheses were rejected since bone values were under or overestimated by CBCT. The resulting data are presented in the following Table 1[24]. The fundamental principle of micro-CT is to obtain a series of radiographic images of a sample, which is rotated between an X-ray source and an X-ray detector. These images are then reconstructed into cross-sectional images using a reconstruction algorithm (Figure 1) [20; 25]. The technique has been employed in biomedical research across a range of disciplines, including musculoskeletal, neurological, cardio-respiratory, gastrointestinal, and longitudinal studies. The combination of micro-CT with histology also permits the identification of histological structures and the generation of data sets for subsequent research [26]. In three-dimensional analysis, micro-CT can be employed for the estimation of density, the calculation of porosity, the assessment of structural thickness, and the execution of morphometric analysis [20; 27]. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c c c c} \hline  & \multicolumn{2}{c}{\(\upmu\)**CT**} & \multicolumn{4}{c}{**VV**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**PR**} \\ \hline  & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**Mean \(\pm\) SD**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**95\% CI**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**Mean \(\pm\) SD**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**95\% CI**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**Mean \(\pm\) SD**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**95\% CI**} \\ \hline  & & **Inferior** & **Superior** & **Inferior** & **Superior** & **Inferior** & **Superior** \\ \hline BV.TV & & & & & & & & & \\ \hline G1 & \(53.17\pm 12.5\,\)* & 46.13 & 60.21 & \(45.37\pm 10.8\,\)* & 38.91 & 51.84 & \(37.86\pm 9.1\,\)* & 32.45 &  
More sophisticated devices employ magnifying instrument objectives to achieve enhanced magnification and resolution. In order to achieve optimal settings for a micro-CT scan, it is necessary to consider two key parameters: the spot size (SS) and the awaited pixel size (PS). These parameters determine the source distance (SD) and detector distance (DD), which, in turn, affect the overall performance of the scan.