Use of digital tomosynthesis: case report of a suspected scaphoid fracture and technique

Digital tomosynthesis is a relatively new technique for producing an arbitrary number of slice images generated retrospectively from a sequence of projections acquired during a single motion of the X-ray tube. Tomosynthesis has already been described for mammographic and thoracic applications to reduce overlap of tissues. We present a case of a 19-year-old man with a suspected scaphoid fracture in which we used digital tomosynthesis to confirm the diagnosis and thus excluded the need for other imaging modalities. We also describe the technique and background of tomosynthesis with possible future indications for this new promising technique. (orig.)