Cleaning of photostimulable phosphor plates with chlorhexidine-based substances does not affect image quality of radiographs

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate image quality of radiographs obtained with photostimulable phosphor (PSP) plates after cleaning with 2% chlorhexidine. METHODS: Eight PSP plates were used: 4 from Express system and 4 from VistaScan system. Two plates from each system were wiped with 2% chlorhexidine in aqueous solution (CHX AQ), and the other 2 plates from each system with 2% chlorhexidine in alcoholic solution (CHX AL). Before cleaning and after every 5 cleaning cycles (up to 100 cleanings), 2 radiographs of an acrylic block and 2 of an aluminium step wedge were acquired with each PSP plate. The image's gray values were measured to assess image brightness, noise, uniformity, and contrast. Two-way repeated measures ANOVA followed by Sidak's post hoc test analysed the influence of the number of cleanings and substance type on these parameters (α = 0.05). RESULTS: Considering the number of cleanings, image brightness varied for CHX AL in the Express system and CHX AQ in the VistaScan system, with no consistent pattern (P < .05). Noise varied for both substances in the VistaScan system, also without a clear pattern (P < .05). In the Express system, regarding the substance type, CHX AL resulted in lower brightness and CHX AQ in lower noise after 75 cleanings (P < .05). Contrast and uniformity were not affected by either the number of cleanings or the substance type (P > .05). Despite numerical variations in some objective parameters, overall image quality remained stable across all cleanings for both substances. No artefacts were observed in the images. CONCLUSION: Regarding image quality, 2% chlorhexidine-whether aqueous or alcohol-based-can be recommended for PSP plates cleaning.