research proposal example in radiography

Head Start Your Radiology Residency [Online] ↗️

  • Radiology Thesis – More than 400 Research Topics (2022)!

Please login to bookmark

Radiology Thesis Topics RadioGyan.com

Introduction

A thesis or dissertation, as some people would like to call it, is an integral part of the Radiology curriculum, be it MD, DNB, or DMRD. We have tried to aggregate radiology thesis topics from various sources for reference.

Not everyone is interested in research, and writing a Radiology thesis can be daunting. But there is no escape from preparing, so it is better that you accept this bitter truth and start working on it instead of cribbing about it (like other things in life. #PhilosophyGyan!)

Start working on your thesis as early as possible and finish your thesis well before your exams, so you do not have that stress at the back of your mind. Also, your thesis may need multiple revisions, so be prepared and allocate time accordingly.

Tips for Choosing Radiology Thesis and Research Topics

Keep it simple silly (kiss).

Retrospective > Prospective

Retrospective studies are better than prospective ones, as you already have the data you need when choosing to do a retrospective study. Prospective studies are better quality, but as a resident, you may not have time (, energy and enthusiasm) to complete these.

Choose a simple topic that answers a single/few questions

Original research is challenging, especially if you do not have prior experience. I would suggest you choose a topic that answers a single or few questions. Most topics that I have listed are along those lines. Alternatively, you can choose a broad topic such as “Role of MRI in evaluation of perianal fistulas.”

You can choose a novel topic if you are genuinely interested in research AND have a good mentor who will guide you. Once you have done that, make sure that you publish your study once you are done with it.

Get it done ASAP.

In most cases, it makes sense to stick to a thesis topic that will not take much time. That does not mean you should ignore your thesis and ‘Ctrl C + Ctrl V’ from a friend from another university. Thesis writing is your first step toward research methodology so do it as sincerely as possible. Do not procrastinate in preparing the thesis. As soon as you have been allotted a guide, start researching topics and writing a review of the literature.

At the same time, do not invest a lot of time in writing/collecting data for your thesis. You should not be busy finishing your thesis a few months before the exam. Some people could not appear for the exam because they could not submit their thesis in time. So DO NOT TAKE thesis lightly.

Do NOT Copy-Paste

Reiterating once again, do not simply choose someone else’s thesis topic. Find out what are kind of cases that your Hospital caters to. It is better to do a good thesis on a common topic than a crappy one on a rare one.

Books to help you write a Radiology Thesis

Event country/university has a different format for thesis; hence these book recommendations may not work for everyone.

How to Write the Thesis and Thesis Protocol: A Primer for Medical, Dental, and Nursing Courses: A Primer for Medical, Dental and Nursing Courses

  • Amazon Kindle Edition
  • Gupta, Piyush (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 206 Pages - 10/12/2020 (Publication Date) - Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers (P) Ltd. (Publisher)

In A Hurry? Download a PDF list of Radiology Research Topics!

Sign up below to get this PDF directly to your email address.

100% Privacy Guaranteed. Your information will not be shared. Unsubscribe anytime with a single click.

List of Radiology Research /Thesis / Dissertation Topics

  • State of the art of MRI in the diagnosis of hepatic focal lesions
  • Multimodality imaging evaluation of sacroiliitis in newly diagnosed patients of spondyloarthropathy
  • Multidetector computed tomography in oesophageal varices
  • Role of positron emission tomography with computed tomography in the diagnosis of cancer Thyroid
  • Evaluation of focal breast lesions using ultrasound elastography
  • Role of MRI diffusion tensor imaging in the assessment of traumatic spinal cord injuries
  • Sonographic imaging in male infertility
  • Comparison of color Doppler and digital subtraction angiography in occlusive arterial disease in patients with lower limb ischemia
  • The role of CT urography in Haematuria
  • Role of functional magnetic resonance imaging in making brain tumor surgery safer
  • Prediction of pre-eclampsia and fetal growth restriction by uterine artery Doppler
  • Role of grayscale and color Doppler ultrasonography in the evaluation of neonatal cholestasis
  • Validity of MRI in the diagnosis of congenital anorectal anomalies
  • Role of sonography in assessment of clubfoot
  • Role of diffusion MRI in preoperative evaluation of brain neoplasms
  • Imaging of upper airways for pre-anaesthetic evaluation purposes and for laryngeal afflictions.
  • A study of multivessel (arterial and venous) Doppler velocimetry in intrauterine growth restriction
  • Multiparametric 3tesla MRI of suspected prostatic malignancy.
  • Role of Sonography in Characterization of Thyroid Nodules for differentiating benign from
  • Role of advances magnetic resonance imaging sequences in multiple sclerosis
  • Role of multidetector computed tomography in evaluation of jaw lesions
  • Role of Ultrasound and MR Imaging in the Evaluation of Musculotendinous Pathologies of Shoulder Joint
  • Role of perfusion computed tomography in the evaluation of cerebral blood flow, blood volume and vascular permeability of cerebral neoplasms
  • MRI flow quantification in the assessment of the commonest csf flow abnormalities
  • Role of diffusion-weighted MRI in evaluation of prostate lesions and its histopathological correlation
  • CT enterography in evaluation of small bowel disorders
  • Comparison of perfusion magnetic resonance imaging (PMRI), magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) in and positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET/CT) in post radiotherapy treated gliomas to detect recurrence
  • Role of multidetector computed tomography in evaluation of paediatric retroperitoneal masses
  • Role of Multidetector computed tomography in neck lesions
  • Estimation of standard liver volume in Indian population
  • Role of MRI in evaluation of spinal trauma
  • Role of modified sonohysterography in female factor infertility: a pilot study.
  • The role of pet-CT in the evaluation of hepatic tumors
  • Role of 3D magnetic resonance imaging tractography in assessment of white matter tracts compromise in supratentorial tumors
  • Role of dual phase multidetector computed tomography in gallbladder lesions
  • Role of multidetector computed tomography in assessing anatomical variants of nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses in patients of chronic rhinosinusitis.
  • magnetic resonance spectroscopy in multiple sclerosis
  • Evaluation of thyroid nodules by ultrasound elastography using acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) imaging
  • Role of Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Intractable Epilepsy
  • Evaluation of suspected and known coronary artery disease by 128 slice multidetector CT.
  • Role of regional diffusion tensor imaging in the evaluation of intracranial gliomas and its histopathological correlation
  • Role of chest sonography in diagnosing pneumothorax
  • Role of CT virtual cystoscopy in diagnosis of urinary bladder neoplasia
  • Role of MRI in assessment of valvular heart diseases
  • High resolution computed tomography of temporal bone in unsafe chronic suppurative otitis media
  • Multidetector CT urography in the evaluation of hematuria
  • Contrast-induced nephropathy in diagnostic imaging investigations with intravenous iodinated contrast media
  • Comparison of dynamic susceptibility contrast-enhanced perfusion magnetic resonance imaging and single photon emission computed tomography in patients with little’s disease
  • Role of Multidetector Computed Tomography in Bowel Lesions.
  • Role of diagnostic imaging modalities in evaluation of post liver transplantation recipient complications.
  • Role of multislice CT scan and barium swallow in the estimation of oesophageal tumour length
  • Malignant Lesions-A Prospective Study.
  • Value of ultrasonography in assessment of acute abdominal diseases in pediatric age group
  • Role of three dimensional multidetector CT hysterosalpingography in female factor infertility
  • Comparative evaluation of multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) virtual tracheo-bronchoscopy and fiberoptic tracheo-bronchoscopy in airway diseases
  • Role of Multidetector CT in the evaluation of small bowel obstruction
  • Sonographic evaluation in adhesive capsulitis of shoulder
  • Utility of MR Urography Versus Conventional Techniques in Obstructive Uropathy
  • MRI of the postoperative knee
  • Role of 64 slice-multi detector computed tomography in diagnosis of bowel and mesenteric injury in blunt abdominal trauma.
  • Sonoelastography and triphasic computed tomography in the evaluation of focal liver lesions
  • Evaluation of Role of Transperineal Ultrasound and Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Urinary Stress incontinence in Women
  • Multidetector computed tomographic features of abdominal hernias
  • Evaluation of lesions of major salivary glands using ultrasound elastography
  • Transvaginal ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging in female urinary incontinence
  • MDCT colonography and double-contrast barium enema in evaluation of colonic lesions
  • Role of MRI in diagnosis and staging of urinary bladder carcinoma
  • Spectrum of imaging findings in children with febrile neutropenia.
  • Spectrum of radiographic appearances in children with chest tuberculosis.
  • Role of computerized tomography in evaluation of mediastinal masses in pediatric
  • Diagnosing renal artery stenosis: Comparison of multimodality imaging in diabetic patients
  • Role of multidetector CT virtual hysteroscopy in the detection of the uterine & tubal causes of female infertility
  • Role of multislice computed tomography in evaluation of crohn’s disease
  • CT quantification of parenchymal and airway parameters on 64 slice MDCT in patients of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
  • Comparative evaluation of MDCT  and 3t MRI in radiographically detected jaw lesions.
  • Evaluation of diagnostic accuracy of ultrasonography, colour Doppler sonography and low dose computed tomography in acute appendicitis
  • Ultrasonography , magnetic resonance cholangio-pancreatography (MRCP) in assessment of pediatric biliary lesions
  • Multidetector computed tomography in hepatobiliary lesions.
  • Evaluation of peripheral nerve lesions with high resolution ultrasonography and colour Doppler
  • Multidetector computed tomography in pancreatic lesions
  • Multidetector Computed Tomography in Paediatric abdominal masses.
  • Evaluation of focal liver lesions by colour Doppler and MDCT perfusion imaging
  • Sonographic evaluation of clubfoot correction during Ponseti treatment
  • Role of multidetector CT in characterization of renal masses
  • Study to assess the role of Doppler ultrasound in evaluation of arteriovenous (av) hemodialysis fistula and the complications of hemodialysis vasular access
  • Comparative study of multiphasic contrast-enhanced CT and contrast-enhanced MRI in the evaluation of hepatic mass lesions
  • Sonographic spectrum of rheumatoid arthritis
  • Diagnosis & staging of liver fibrosis by ultrasound elastography in patients with chronic liver diseases
  • Role of multidetector computed tomography in assessment of jaw lesions.
  • Role of high-resolution ultrasonography in the differentiation of benign and malignant thyroid lesions
  • Radiological evaluation of aortic aneurysms in patients selected for endovascular repair
  • Role of conventional MRI, and diffusion tensor imaging tractography in evaluation of congenital brain malformations
  • To evaluate the status of coronary arteries in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation using 256 multirow detector CT scan
  • A comparative study of ultrasonography and CT – arthrography in diagnosis of chronic ligamentous and meniscal injuries of knee
  • Multi detector computed tomography evaluation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and correlation with severity of disease
  • Diffusion weighted and dynamic contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging in chemoradiotherapeutic response evaluation in cervical cancer.
  • High resolution sonography in the evaluation of non-traumatic painful wrist
  • The role of trans-vaginal ultrasound versus magnetic resonance imaging in diagnosis & evaluation of cancer cervix
  • Role of multidetector row computed tomography in assessment of maxillofacial trauma
  • Imaging of vascular complication after liver transplantation.
  • Role of magnetic resonance perfusion weighted imaging & spectroscopy for grading of glioma by correlating perfusion parameter of the lesion with the final histopathological grade
  • Magnetic resonance evaluation of abdominal tuberculosis.
  • Diagnostic usefulness of low dose spiral HRCT in diffuse lung diseases
  • Role of dynamic contrast enhanced and diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging in evaluation of endometrial lesions
  • Contrast enhanced digital mammography anddigital breast tomosynthesis in early diagnosis of breast lesion
  • Evaluation of Portal Hypertension with Colour Doppler flow imaging and magnetic resonance imaging
  • Evaluation of musculoskeletal lesions by magnetic resonance imaging
  • Role of diffusion magnetic resonance imaging in assessment of neoplastic and inflammatory brain lesions
  • Radiological spectrum of chest diseases in HIV infected children High resolution ultrasonography in neck masses in children
  • with surgical findings
  • Sonographic evaluation of peripheral nerves in type 2 diabetes mellitus.
  • Role of perfusion computed tomography in the evaluation of neck masses and correlation
  • Role of ultrasonography in the diagnosis of knee joint lesions
  • Role of ultrasonography in evaluation of various causes of pelvic pain in first trimester of pregnancy.
  • Role of Magnetic Resonance Angiography in the Evaluation of Diseases of Aorta and its Branches
  • MDCT fistulography in evaluation of fistula in Ano
  • Role of multislice CT in diagnosis of small intestine tumors
  • Role of high resolution CT in differentiation between benign and malignant pulmonary nodules in children
  • A study of multidetector computed tomography urography in urinary tract abnormalities
  • Role of high resolution sonography in assessment of ulnar nerve in patients with leprosy.
  • Pre-operative radiological evaluation of locally aggressive and malignant musculoskeletal tumours by computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging.
  • The role of ultrasound & MRI in acute pelvic inflammatory disease
  • Ultrasonography compared to computed tomographic arthrography in the evaluation of shoulder pain
  • Role of Multidetector Computed Tomography in patients with blunt abdominal trauma.
  • The Role of Extended field-of-view Sonography and compound imaging in Evaluation of Breast Lesions
  • Evaluation of focal pancreatic lesions by Multidetector CT and perfusion CT
  • Evaluation of breast masses on sono-mammography and colour Doppler imaging
  • Role of CT virtual laryngoscopy in evaluation of laryngeal masses
  • Triple phase multi detector computed tomography in hepatic masses
  • Role of transvaginal ultrasound in diagnosis and treatment of female infertility
  • Role of ultrasound and color Doppler imaging in assessment of acute abdomen due to female genetal causes
  • High resolution ultrasonography and color Doppler ultrasonography in scrotal lesion
  • Evaluation of diagnostic accuracy of ultrasonography with colour Doppler vs low dose computed tomography in salivary gland disease
  • Role of multidetector CT in diagnosis of salivary gland lesions
  • Comparison of diagnostic efficacy of ultrasonography and magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography in obstructive jaundice: A prospective study
  • Evaluation of varicose veins-comparative assessment of low dose CT venogram with sonography: pilot study
  • Role of mammotome in breast lesions
  • The role of interventional imaging procedures in the treatment of selected gynecological disorders
  • Role of transcranial ultrasound in diagnosis of neonatal brain insults
  • Role of multidetector CT virtual laryngoscopy in evaluation of laryngeal mass lesions
  • Evaluation of adnexal masses on sonomorphology and color Doppler imaginig
  • Role of radiological imaging in diagnosis of endometrial carcinoma
  • Comprehensive imaging of renal masses by magnetic resonance imaging
  • The role of 3D & 4D ultrasonography in abnormalities of fetal abdomen
  • Diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging in diagnosis and characterization of brain tumors in correlation with conventional MRI
  • Role of diffusion weighted MRI imaging in evaluation of cancer prostate
  • Role of multidetector CT in diagnosis of urinary bladder cancer
  • Role of multidetector computed tomography in the evaluation of paediatric retroperitoneal masses.
  • Comparative evaluation of gastric lesions by double contrast barium upper G.I. and multi detector computed tomography
  • Evaluation of hepatic fibrosis in chronic liver disease using ultrasound elastography
  • Role of MRI in assessment of hydrocephalus in pediatric patients
  • The role of sonoelastography in characterization of breast lesions
  • The influence of volumetric tumor doubling time on survival of patients with intracranial tumours
  • Role of perfusion computed tomography in characterization of colonic lesions
  • Role of proton MRI spectroscopy in the evaluation of temporal lobe epilepsy
  • Role of Doppler ultrasound and multidetector CT angiography in evaluation of peripheral arterial diseases.
  • Role of multidetector computed tomography in paranasal sinus pathologies
  • Role of virtual endoscopy using MDCT in detection & evaluation of gastric pathologies
  • High resolution 3 Tesla MRI in the evaluation of ankle and hindfoot pain.
  • Transperineal ultrasonography in infants with anorectal malformation
  • CT portography using MDCT versus color Doppler in detection of varices in cirrhotic patients
  • Role of CT urography in the evaluation of a dilated ureter
  • Characterization of pulmonary nodules by dynamic contrast-enhanced multidetector CT
  • Comprehensive imaging of acute ischemic stroke on multidetector CT
  • The role of fetal MRI in the diagnosis of intrauterine neurological congenital anomalies
  • Role of Multidetector computed tomography in pediatric chest masses
  • Multimodality imaging in the evaluation of palpable & non-palpable breast lesion.
  • Sonographic Assessment Of Fetal Nasal Bone Length At 11-28 Gestational Weeks And Its Correlation With Fetal Outcome.
  • Role Of Sonoelastography And Contrast-Enhanced Computed Tomography In Evaluation Of Lymph Node Metastasis In Head And Neck Cancers
  • Role Of Renal Doppler And Shear Wave Elastography In Diabetic Nephropathy
  • Evaluation Of Relationship Between Various Grades Of Fatty Liver And Shear Wave Elastography Values
  • Evaluation and characterization of pelvic masses of gynecological origin by USG, color Doppler and MRI in females of reproductive age group
  • Radiological evaluation of small bowel diseases using computed tomographic enterography
  • Role of coronary CT angiography in patients of coronary artery disease
  • Role of multimodality imaging in the evaluation of pediatric neck masses
  • Role of CT in the evaluation of craniocerebral trauma
  • Role of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the evaluation of spinal dysraphism
  • Comparative evaluation of triple phase CT and dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI in patients with liver cirrhosis
  • Evaluation of the relationship between carotid intima-media thickness and coronary artery disease in patients evaluated by coronary angiography for suspected CAD
  • Assessment of hepatic fat content in fatty liver disease by unenhanced computed tomography
  • Correlation of vertebral marrow fat on spectroscopy and diffusion-weighted MRI imaging with bone mineral density in postmenopausal women.
  • Comparative evaluation of CT coronary angiography with conventional catheter coronary angiography
  • Ultrasound evaluation of kidney length & descending colon diameter in normal and intrauterine growth-restricted fetuses
  • A prospective study of hepatic vein waveform and splenoportal index in liver cirrhosis: correlation with child Pugh’s classification and presence of esophageal varices.
  • CT angiography to evaluate coronary artery by-pass graft patency in symptomatic patient’s functional assessment of myocardium by cardiac MRI in patients with myocardial infarction
  • MRI evaluation of HIV positive patients with central nervous system manifestations
  • MDCT evaluation of mediastinal and hilar masses
  • Evaluation of rotator cuff & labro-ligamentous complex lesions by MRI & MRI arthrography of shoulder joint
  • Role of imaging in the evaluation of soft tissue vascular malformation
  • Role of MRI and ultrasonography in the evaluation of multifidus muscle pathology in chronic low back pain patients
  • Role of ultrasound elastography in the differential diagnosis of breast lesions
  • Role of magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography in evaluating dilated common bile duct in patients with symptomatic gallstone disease.
  • Comparative study of CT urography & hybrid CT urography in patients with haematuria.
  • Role of MRI in the evaluation of anorectal malformations
  • Comparison of ultrasound-Doppler and magnetic resonance imaging findings in rheumatoid arthritis of hand and wrist
  • Role of Doppler sonography in the evaluation of renal artery stenosis in hypertensive patients undergoing coronary angiography for coronary artery disease.
  • Comparison of radiography, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging in the detection of sacroiliitis in ankylosing spondylitis.
  • Mr evaluation of painful hip
  • Role of MRI imaging in pretherapeutic assessment of oral and oropharyngeal malignancy
  • Evaluation of diffuse lung diseases by high resolution computed tomography of the chest
  • Mr evaluation of brain parenchyma in patients with craniosynostosis.
  • Diagnostic and prognostic value of cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging in dilated cardiomyopathy
  • Role of multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging in the detection of early carcinoma prostate
  • Role of magnetic resonance imaging in white matter diseases
  • Role of sonoelastography in assessing the response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with locally advanced breast cancer.
  • Role of ultrasonography in the evaluation of carotid and femoral intima-media thickness in predialysis patients with chronic kidney disease
  • Role of H1 MRI spectroscopy in focal bone lesions of peripheral skeleton choline detection by MRI spectroscopy in breast cancer and its correlation with biomarkers and histological grade.
  • Ultrasound and MRI evaluation of axillary lymph node status in breast cancer.
  • Role of sonography and magnetic resonance imaging in evaluating chronic lateral epicondylitis.
  • Comparative of sonography including Doppler and sonoelastography in cervical lymphadenopathy.
  • Evaluation of Umbilical Coiling Index as Predictor of Pregnancy Outcome.
  • Computerized Tomographic Evaluation of Azygoesophageal Recess in Adults.
  • Lumbar Facet Arthropathy in Low Backache.
  • “Urethral Injuries After Pelvic Trauma: Evaluation with Uretrography
  • Role Of Ct In Diagnosis Of Inflammatory Renal Diseases
  • Role Of Ct Virtual Laryngoscopy In Evaluation Of Laryngeal Masses
  • “Ct Portography Using Mdct Versus Color Doppler In Detection Of Varices In
  • Cirrhotic Patients”
  • Role Of Multidetector Ct In Characterization Of Renal Masses
  • Role Of Ct Virtual Cystoscopy In Diagnosis Of Urinary Bladder Neoplasia
  • Role Of Multislice Ct In Diagnosis Of Small Intestine Tumors
  • “Mri Flow Quantification In The Assessment Of The Commonest CSF Flow Abnormalities”
  • “The Role Of Fetal Mri In Diagnosis Of Intrauterine Neurological CongenitalAnomalies”
  • Role Of Transcranial Ultrasound In Diagnosis Of Neonatal Brain Insults
  • “The Role Of Interventional Imaging Procedures In The Treatment Of Selected Gynecological Disorders”
  • Role Of Radiological Imaging In Diagnosis Of Endometrial Carcinoma
  • “Role Of High-Resolution Ct In Differentiation Between Benign And Malignant Pulmonary Nodules In Children”
  • Role Of Ultrasonography In The Diagnosis Of Knee Joint Lesions
  • “Role Of Diagnostic Imaging Modalities In Evaluation Of Post Liver Transplantation Recipient Complications”
  • “Diffusion-Weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging In Diagnosis And
  • Characterization Of Brain Tumors In Correlation With Conventional Mri”
  • The Role Of PET-CT In The Evaluation Of Hepatic Tumors
  • “Role Of Computerized Tomography In Evaluation Of Mediastinal Masses In Pediatric patients”
  • “Trans Vaginal Ultrasound And Magnetic Resonance Imaging In Female Urinary Incontinence”
  • Role Of Multidetector Ct In Diagnosis Of Urinary Bladder Cancer
  • “Role Of Transvaginal Ultrasound In Diagnosis And Treatment Of Female Infertility”
  • Role Of Diffusion-Weighted Mri Imaging In Evaluation Of Cancer Prostate
  • “Role Of Positron Emission Tomography With Computed Tomography In Diagnosis Of Cancer Thyroid”
  • The Role Of CT Urography In Case Of Haematuria
  • “Value Of Ultrasonography In Assessment Of Acute Abdominal Diseases In Pediatric Age Group”
  • “Role Of Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging In Making Brain Tumor Surgery Safer”
  • The Role Of Sonoelastography In Characterization Of Breast Lesions
  • “Ultrasonography, Magnetic Resonance Cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) In Assessment Of Pediatric Biliary Lesions”
  • “Role Of Ultrasound And Color Doppler Imaging In Assessment Of Acute Abdomen Due To Female Genital Causes”
  • “Role Of Multidetector Ct Virtual Laryngoscopy In Evaluation Of Laryngeal Mass Lesions”
  • MRI Of The Postoperative Knee
  • Role Of Mri In Assessment Of Valvular Heart Diseases
  • The Role Of 3D & 4D Ultrasonography In Abnormalities Of Fetal Abdomen
  • State Of The Art Of Mri In Diagnosis Of Hepatic Focal Lesions
  • Role Of Multidetector Ct In Diagnosis Of Salivary Gland Lesions
  • “Role Of Virtual Endoscopy Using Mdct In Detection & Evaluation Of Gastric Pathologies”
  • The Role Of Ultrasound & Mri In Acute Pelvic Inflammatory Disease
  • “Diagnosis & Staging Of Liver Fibrosis By Ultraso Und Elastography In
  • Patients With Chronic Liver Diseases”
  • Role Of Mri In Evaluation Of Spinal Trauma
  • Validity Of Mri In Diagnosis Of Congenital Anorectal Anomalies
  • Imaging Of Vascular Complication After Liver Transplantation
  • “Contrast-Enhanced Digital Mammography And Digital Breast Tomosynthesis In Early Diagnosis Of Breast Lesion”
  • Role Of Mammotome In Breast Lesions
  • “Role Of MRI Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) In Assessment Of Traumatic Spinal Cord Injuries”
  • “Prediction Of Pre-eclampsia And Fetal Growth Restriction By Uterine Artery Doppler”
  • “Role Of Multidetector Row Computed Tomography In Assessment Of Maxillofacial Trauma”
  • “Role Of Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging In Assessment Of Neoplastic And Inflammatory Brain Lesions”
  • Role Of Diffusion Mri In Preoperative Evaluation Of Brain Neoplasms
  • “Role Of Multidetector Ct Virtual Hysteroscopy In The Detection Of The
  • Uterine & Tubal Causes Of Female Infertility”
  • Role Of Advances Magnetic Resonance Imaging Sequences In Multiple Sclerosis Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy In Multiple Sclerosis
  • “Role Of Conventional Mri, And Diffusion Tensor Imaging Tractography In Evaluation Of Congenital Brain Malformations”
  • Role Of MRI In Evaluation Of Spinal Trauma
  • Diagnostic Role Of Diffusion-weighted MR Imaging In Neck Masses
  • “The Role Of Transvaginal Ultrasound Versus Magnetic Resonance Imaging In Diagnosis & Evaluation Of Cancer Cervix”
  • “Role Of 3d Magnetic Resonance Imaging Tractography In Assessment Of White Matter Tracts Compromise In Supra Tentorial Tumors”
  • Role Of Proton MR Spectroscopy In The Evaluation Of Temporal Lobe Epilepsy
  • Role Of Multislice Computed Tomography In Evaluation Of Crohn’s Disease
  • Role Of MRI In Assessment Of Hydrocephalus In Pediatric Patients
  • The Role Of MRI In Diagnosis And Staging Of Urinary Bladder Carcinoma
  • USG and MRI correlation of congenital CNS anomalies
  • HRCT in interstitial lung disease
  • X-Ray, CT and MRI correlation of bone tumors
  • “Study on the diagnostic and prognostic utility of X-Rays for cases of pulmonary tuberculosis under RNTCP”
  • “Role of magnetic resonance imaging in the characterization of female adnexal  pathology”
  • “CT angiography of carotid atherosclerosis and NECT brain in cerebral ischemia, a correlative analysis”
  • Role of CT scan in the evaluation of paranasal sinus pathology
  • USG and MRI correlation on shoulder joint pathology
  • “Radiological evaluation of a patient presenting with extrapulmonary tuberculosis”
  • CT and MRI correlation in focal liver lesions”
  • Comparison of MDCT virtual cystoscopy with conventional cystoscopy in bladder tumors”
  • “Bleeding vessels in life-threatening hemoptysis: Comparison of 64 detector row CT angiography with conventional angiography prior to endovascular management”
  • “Role of transarterial chemoembolization in unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma”
  • “Comparison of color flow duplex study with digital subtraction angiography in the evaluation of peripheral vascular disease”
  • “A Study to assess the efficacy of magnetization transfer ratio in differentiating tuberculoma from neurocysticercosis”
  • “MR evaluation of uterine mass lesions in correlation with transabdominal, transvaginal ultrasound using HPE as a gold standard”
  • “The Role of power Doppler imaging with trans rectal ultrasonogram guided prostate biopsy in the detection of prostate cancer”
  • “Lower limb arteries assessed with doppler angiography – A prospective comparative study with multidetector CT angiography”
  • “Comparison of sildenafil with papaverine in penile doppler by assessing hemodynamic changes”
  • “Evaluation of efficacy of sonosalphingogram for assessing tubal patency in infertile patients with hysterosalpingogram as the gold standard”
  • Role of CT enteroclysis in the evaluation of small bowel diseases
  • “MRI colonography versus conventional colonoscopy in the detection of colonic polyposis”
  • “Magnetic Resonance Imaging of anteroposterior diameter of the midbrain – differentiation of progressive supranuclear palsy from Parkinson disease”
  • “MRI Evaluation of anterior cruciate ligament tears with arthroscopic correlation”
  • “The Clinicoradiological profile of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis with prognostic evaluation using MR sequences”
  • “Role of MRI in the evaluation of pelvic floor integrity in stress incontinent patients” “Doppler ultrasound evaluation of hepatic venous waveform in portal hypertension before and after propranolol”
  • “Role of transrectal sonography with colour doppler and MRI in evaluation of prostatic lesions with TRUS guided biopsy correlation”
  • “Ultrasonographic evaluation of painful shoulders and correlation of rotator cuff pathologies and clinical examination”
  • “Colour Doppler Evaluation of Common Adult Hepatic tumors More Than 2 Cm  with HPE and CECT Correlation”
  • “Clinical Relevance of MR Urethrography in Obliterative Posterior Urethral Stricture”
  • “Prediction of Adverse Perinatal Outcome in Growth Restricted Fetuses with Antenatal Doppler Study”
  • Radiological evaluation of spinal dysraphism using CT and MRI
  • “Evaluation of temporal bone in cholesteatoma patients by high resolution computed tomography”
  • “Radiological evaluation of primary brain tumours using computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging”
  • “Three dimensional colour doppler sonographic assessment of changes in  volume and vascularity of fibroids – before and after uterine artery embolization”
  • “In phase opposed phase imaging of bone marrow differentiating neoplastic lesions”
  • “Role of dynamic MRI in replacing the isotope renogram in the functional evaluation of PUJ obstruction”
  • Characterization of adrenal masses with contrast-enhanced CT – washout study
  • A study on accuracy of magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography
  • “Evaluation of median nerve in carpal tunnel syndrome by high-frequency ultrasound & color doppler in comparison with nerve conduction studies”
  • “Correlation of Agatston score in patients with obstructive and nonobstructive coronary artery disease following STEMI”
  • “Doppler ultrasound assessment of tumor vascularity in locally advanced breast cancer at diagnosis and following primary systemic chemotherapy.”
  • “Validation of two-dimensional perineal ultrasound and dynamic magnetic resonance imaging in pelvic floor dysfunction.”
  • “Role of MR urethrography compared to conventional urethrography in the surgical management of obliterative urethral stricture.”

Search Diagnostic Imaging Research Topics

You can also search research-related resources on our custom search engine .

A Search Engine for Radiology Presentations

Free Resources for Preparing Radiology Thesis

  • Radiology thesis topics- Benha University – Free to download thesis
  • Radiology thesis topics – Faculty of Medical Science Delhi
  • Radiology thesis topics – IPGMER
  • Fetal Radiology thesis Protocols
  • Radiology thesis and dissertation topics
  • Radiographics

Proofreading Your Thesis:

Make sure you use Grammarly to correct your spelling ,  grammar , and plagiarism for your thesis. Grammarly has affordable paid subscriptions, windows/macOS apps, and FREE browser extensions. It is an excellent tool to avoid inadvertent spelling mistakes in your research projects. It has an extensive built-in vocabulary, but you should make an account and add your own medical glossary to it.

Grammarly spelling and grammar correction app for thesis

Guidelines for Writing a Radiology Thesis:

These are general guidelines and not about radiology specifically. You can share these with colleagues from other departments as well. Special thanks to Dr. Sanjay Yadav sir for these. This section is best seen on a desktop. Here are a couple of handy presentations to start writing a thesis:

Read the general guidelines for writing a thesis (the page will take some time to load- more than 70 pages!

A format for thesis protocol with a sample patient information sheet, sample patient consent form, sample application letter for thesis, and sample certificate.

Resources and References:

  • Guidelines for thesis writing.
  • Format for thesis protocol
  • Thesis protocol writing guidelines DNB
  • Informed consent form for Research studies from AIIMS 
  • Radiology Informed consent forms in local Indian languages.
  • Sample Informed Consent form for Research in Hindi
  • Guide to write a thesis by Dr. P R Sharma
  • Guidelines for thesis writing by Dr. Pulin Gupta.
  • Preparing MD/DNB thesis by A Indrayan
  • Another good thesis reference protocol

Hopefully, this post will make the tedious task of writing a Radiology thesis a little bit easier for you. Best of luck with writing your thesis and your residency too!

More guides for residents :

  • Guide for the MD/DMRD/DNB radiology exam!
  • Guide for First-Year Radiology Residents
  • FRCR Exam: THE Most Comprehensive Guide (2022)!
  • Radiology Practical Exams Questions compilation for MD/DNB/DMRD !
  • Radiology Exam Resources (Oral Recalls, Instruments, etc )!
  • Tips and Tricks for DNB/MD Radiology Practical Exam
  • FRCR 2B exam- Tips and Tricks !

FRCR exam preparation – An alternative take!

  • Why did I take up Radiology?
  • Radiology Conferences – A comprehensive guide!
  • ECR (European Congress Of Radiology)
  • European Diploma in Radiology (EDiR) – The Complete Guide!
  • Radiology NEET PG guide – How to select THE best college for post-graduation in Radiology (includes personal insights)!
  • Interventional Radiology – All Your Questions Answered!
  • What It Means To Be A Radiologist: A Guide For Medical Students!
  • Radiology Mentors for Medical Students (Post NEET-PG)
  • MD vs DNB Radiology: Which Path is Right for Your Career?

DNB Radiology OSCE – Tips and Tricks

More radiology resources here: Radiology resources This page will be updated regularly. Kindly leave your feedback in the comments or send us a message here . Also, you can comment below regarding your department’s thesis topics.

Note: All topics have been compiled from available online resources. If anyone has an issue with any radiology thesis topics displayed here, you can message us here , and we can delete them. These are only sample guidelines. Thesis guidelines differ from institution to institution.

Image source: Thesis complete! (2018). Flickr. Retrieved 12 August 2018, from https://www.flickr.com/photos/cowlet/354911838 by Victoria Catterson

About The Author

Dr. amar udare, md, related posts ↓.

DNB Radiology OSCE

7 thoughts on “Radiology Thesis – More than 400 Research Topics (2022)!”

Amazing & The most helpful site for Radiology residents…

Thank you for your kind comments 🙂

Dr. I saw your Tips is very amazing and referable. But Dr. Can you help me with the thesis of Evaluation of Diagnostic accuracy of X-ray radiograph in knee joint lesion.

Wow! These are excellent stuff. You are indeed a teacher. God bless

Glad you liked these!

happy to see this

Glad I could help :).

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Get Radiology Updates to Your Inbox!

This site is for use by medical professionals. To continue, you must accept our use of cookies and the site's Terms of Use. Learn more Accept!

research proposal example in radiography

Wish to be a BETTER Radiologist? Join 14000 Radiology Colleagues !

Enter your email address below to access HIGH YIELD radiology content, updates, and resources.

No spam, only VALUE! Unsubscribe anytime with a single click.

Have a language expert improve your writing

Run a free plagiarism check in 10 minutes, generate accurate citations for free.

  • Knowledge Base
  • Starting the research process
  • How to Write a Research Proposal | Examples & Templates

How to Write a Research Proposal | Examples & Templates

Published on October 12, 2022 by Shona McCombes and Tegan George. Revised on November 21, 2023.

Structure of a research proposal

A research proposal describes what you will investigate, why it’s important, and how you will conduct your research.

The format of a research proposal varies between fields, but most proposals will contain at least these elements:

Introduction

Literature review.

  • Research design

Reference list

While the sections may vary, the overall objective is always the same. A research proposal serves as a blueprint and guide for your research plan, helping you get organized and feel confident in the path forward you choose to take.

Table of contents

Research proposal purpose, research proposal examples, research design and methods, contribution to knowledge, research schedule, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about research proposals.

Academics often have to write research proposals to get funding for their projects. As a student, you might have to write a research proposal as part of a grad school application , or prior to starting your thesis or dissertation .

In addition to helping you figure out what your research can look like, a proposal can also serve to demonstrate why your project is worth pursuing to a funder, educational institution, or supervisor.

Research proposal length

The length of a research proposal can vary quite a bit. A bachelor’s or master’s thesis proposal can be just a few pages, while proposals for PhD dissertations or research funding are usually much longer and more detailed. Your supervisor can help you determine the best length for your work.

One trick to get started is to think of your proposal’s structure as a shorter version of your thesis or dissertation , only without the results , conclusion and discussion sections.

Download our research proposal template

Receive feedback on language, structure, and formatting

Professional editors proofread and edit your paper by focusing on:

  • Academic style
  • Vague sentences
  • Style consistency

See an example

research proposal example in radiography

Writing a research proposal can be quite challenging, but a good starting point could be to look at some examples. We’ve included a few for you below.

  • Example research proposal #1: “A Conceptual Framework for Scheduling Constraint Management”
  • Example research proposal #2: “Medical Students as Mediators of Change in Tobacco Use”

Like your dissertation or thesis, the proposal will usually have a title page that includes:

  • The proposed title of your project
  • Your supervisor’s name
  • Your institution and department

The first part of your proposal is the initial pitch for your project. Make sure it succinctly explains what you want to do and why.

Your introduction should:

  • Introduce your topic
  • Give necessary background and context
  • Outline your  problem statement  and research questions

To guide your introduction , include information about:

  • Who could have an interest in the topic (e.g., scientists, policymakers)
  • How much is already known about the topic
  • What is missing from this current knowledge
  • What new insights your research will contribute
  • Why you believe this research is worth doing

As you get started, it’s important to demonstrate that you’re familiar with the most important research on your topic. A strong literature review  shows your reader that your project has a solid foundation in existing knowledge or theory. It also shows that you’re not simply repeating what other people have already done or said, but rather using existing research as a jumping-off point for your own.

In this section, share exactly how your project will contribute to ongoing conversations in the field by:

  • Comparing and contrasting the main theories, methods, and debates
  • Examining the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches
  • Explaining how will you build on, challenge, or synthesize prior scholarship

Following the literature review, restate your main  objectives . This brings the focus back to your own project. Next, your research design or methodology section will describe your overall approach, and the practical steps you will take to answer your research questions.

To finish your proposal on a strong note, explore the potential implications of your research for your field. Emphasize again what you aim to contribute and why it matters.

For example, your results might have implications for:

  • Improving best practices
  • Informing policymaking decisions
  • Strengthening a theory or model
  • Challenging popular or scientific beliefs
  • Creating a basis for future research

Last but not least, your research proposal must include correct citations for every source you have used, compiled in a reference list . To create citations quickly and easily, you can use our free APA citation generator .

Some institutions or funders require a detailed timeline of the project, asking you to forecast what you will do at each stage and how long it may take. While not always required, be sure to check the requirements of your project.

Here’s an example schedule to help you get started. You can also download a template at the button below.

Download our research schedule template

If you are applying for research funding, chances are you will have to include a detailed budget. This shows your estimates of how much each part of your project will cost.

Make sure to check what type of costs the funding body will agree to cover. For each item, include:

  • Cost : exactly how much money do you need?
  • Justification : why is this cost necessary to complete the research?
  • Source : how did you calculate the amount?

To determine your budget, think about:

  • Travel costs : do you need to go somewhere to collect your data? How will you get there, and how much time will you need? What will you do there (e.g., interviews, archival research)?
  • Materials : do you need access to any tools or technologies?
  • Help : do you need to hire any research assistants for the project? What will they do, and how much will you pay them?

If you want to know more about the research process , methodology , research bias , or statistics , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

Methodology

  • Sampling methods
  • Simple random sampling
  • Stratified sampling
  • Cluster sampling
  • Likert scales
  • Reproducibility

 Statistics

  • Null hypothesis
  • Statistical power
  • Probability distribution
  • Effect size
  • Poisson distribution

Research bias

  • Optimism bias
  • Cognitive bias
  • Implicit bias
  • Hawthorne effect
  • Anchoring bias
  • Explicit bias

Once you’ve decided on your research objectives , you need to explain them in your paper, at the end of your problem statement .

Keep your research objectives clear and concise, and use appropriate verbs to accurately convey the work that you will carry out for each one.

I will compare …

A research aim is a broad statement indicating the general purpose of your research project. It should appear in your introduction at the end of your problem statement , before your research objectives.

Research objectives are more specific than your research aim. They indicate the specific ways you’ll address the overarching aim.

A PhD, which is short for philosophiae doctor (doctor of philosophy in Latin), is the highest university degree that can be obtained. In a PhD, students spend 3–5 years writing a dissertation , which aims to make a significant, original contribution to current knowledge.

A PhD is intended to prepare students for a career as a researcher, whether that be in academia, the public sector, or the private sector.

A master’s is a 1- or 2-year graduate degree that can prepare you for a variety of careers.

All master’s involve graduate-level coursework. Some are research-intensive and intend to prepare students for further study in a PhD; these usually require their students to write a master’s thesis . Others focus on professional training for a specific career.

Critical thinking refers to the ability to evaluate information and to be aware of biases or assumptions, including your own.

Like information literacy , it involves evaluating arguments, identifying and solving problems in an objective and systematic way, and clearly communicating your ideas.

The best way to remember the difference between a research plan and a research proposal is that they have fundamentally different audiences. A research plan helps you, the researcher, organize your thoughts. On the other hand, a dissertation proposal or research proposal aims to convince others (e.g., a supervisor, a funding body, or a dissertation committee) that your research topic is relevant and worthy of being conducted.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

McCombes, S. & George, T. (2023, November 21). How to Write a Research Proposal | Examples & Templates. Scribbr. Retrieved April 15, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/research-process/research-proposal/

Is this article helpful?

Shona McCombes

Shona McCombes

Other students also liked, how to write a problem statement | guide & examples, writing strong research questions | criteria & examples, how to write a literature review | guide, examples, & templates, "i thought ai proofreading was useless but..".

I've been using Scribbr for years now and I know it's a service that won't disappoint. It does a good job spotting mistakes”

Free Research Paper Samples, Research Proposal Examples and Tips | UsefulResearchPapers.com

Research proposal on radiography.

July 15, 2013 UsefulResearchPapers Research Proposals 0

Radiography Research Proposal Sample:

Radiography is the research of the inner side of the objects, which is projected on the special paper with the help of X-rays. The history of the method of radiography began already in the end of the 19th century, when Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen discovered the effect of the X-rays. He also noticed that when a human is X-rayed, the rays go through the tissue of a human but not through her bones. This invention was met with the great enthusiasm, because enabled to see the visualization of the organs, tissue and bones. Radiography is an extremely important and useful method in medicine, because enabled to be the inner side of the human body without any harm. It is possible to use radiography to see the form and position of the organs, their condition, etc.

You Can Entrust Us Your Radiography Research Proposal Writing Now!

Radiography has a range of advantages. First of all, the method is easy and opens wide possibilities for doctors to investigate and analyze the human body. Then, the patient does not have to be trained or prepared for the procedure of X-raying. Next, the cost of the procedure is quite low. Finally, the photographs of the X-rayed organs can be easily carried to another doctor for the analysis. On the other hand there are several disadvantages of radiography, the most serious of which is: X-ray and gamma radiation used in the procedure is harmful for the human health, that is why one must not do it often. Radiography is becoming less popular, because there are other types of visualization of the inner side of the human body which are more informative and flexible.

In order to succeed in radiography research proposal writing, one should read much about the topic to know about it as much as possible. The aim of a research proposal is to introduce something new into the discipline and win the chance to prepare a good research paper on the chosen topic. So, if one wants to impress the professor, he should make the proposal interesting, brief, informative, logical and captive. The professor should see that much work has already been done, so it is important to introduce the purpose of the research, literature review and methodology chapters there. Moreover, the proposal should be written in the convincing manner to persuade the professor that the topic is worthy.

The process of research proposal writing is quite specific and requires time and knowledge. Many inexperienced students do not know how to prepare a good research proposal, so they require a free example research proposal on radiography in the internet. Nearly every free sample research proposal on radiography is completed by the professional writer, so it is useful to see how a successful paper on the topic should look like.

At EssayLib.com writing service you can order a custom research proposal on any related topics . Your research paper proposal will be written from scratch. We hire top-rated PhD and Master’s writers only to provide students with professional research proposal help at affordable rates. Each customer will get a non-plagiarized paper with timely delivery. Just visit our website and fill in the order form with all proposal details:

Custom Research Proposal on Radiography

Similar Posts:

  • Research Paper on X-Ray
  • Research Proposal on Physical Education
  • How to Write a Research Proposal for Scholarship

Copyright © 2023 | WordPress Theme by MH Themes

  • Postgraduate

Research degrees

  • Examples of Research proposals
  • Apply for 2024
  • Find a course
  • Accessibility

Examples of research proposals

How to write your research proposal, with examples of good proposals.

Research proposals

Your research proposal is a key part of your application. It tells us about the question you want to answer through your research. It is a chance for you to show your knowledge of the subject area and tell us about the methods you want to use.

We use your research proposal to match you with a supervisor or team of supervisors.

In your proposal, please tell us if you have an interest in the work of a specific academic at York St John. You can get in touch with this academic to discuss your proposal. You can also speak to one of our Research Leads. There is a list of our Research Leads on the Apply page.

When you write your proposal you need to:

  • Highlight how it is original or significant
  • Explain how it will develop or challenge current knowledge of your subject
  • Identify the importance of your research
  • Show why you are the right person to do this research
  • Research Proposal Example 1 (DOC, 49kB)
  • Research Proposal Example 2 (DOC, 0.9MB)
  • Research Proposal Example 3 (DOC, 55.5kB)
  • Research Proposal Example 4 (DOC, 49.5kB)

Subject specific guidance

  • Writing a Humanities PhD Proposal (PDF, 0.1MB)
  • Writing a Creative Writing PhD Proposal (PDF, 0.1MB)
  • About the University
  • Our culture and values
  • Academic schools
  • Academic dates
  • Press office

Our wider work

  • Business support
  • Work in the community
  • Donate or support

Connect with us

York St John University

Lord Mayor’s Walk

[email protected]

01904 624 624

York St John London Campus

6th Floor Export Building

1 Clove Crescent

[email protected]

01904 876 944

research proposal example in radiography

  • Policies and documents
  • Module documents
  • Programme specifications
  • Quality gateway
  • Admissions documents
  • Access and Participation Plan
  • Freedom of information
  • Accessibility statement
  • Modern slavery and human trafficking statement

© York St John University 2024

Colour Picker

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Dui id ornare arcu odio.

Felis bibendum ut tristique et egestas quis ipsum. Et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Faucibus pulvinar elementum integer enim neque volutpat ac. Hac habitasse platea dictumst vestibulum rhoncus.

Nec ullamcorper sit amet risus nullam eget felis eget. Eget felis eget nunc lobortis mattis aliquam faucibus purus.

Radiology Research Paper Topics

Academic Writing Service

Radiology research paper topics encompass a wide range of fascinating areas within the field of medical imaging. This page aims to provide students studying health sciences with a comprehensive collection of radiology research paper topics to inspire and guide their research endeavors. By delving into various categories and exploring ten thought-provoking topics within each, students can gain insights into the diverse research possibilities in radiology. From advancements in imaging technology to the evaluation of diagnostic accuracy and the impact of radiological interventions, these topics offer a glimpse into the exciting world of radiology research. Additionally, expert advice is provided to help students choose the most suitable research topics and navigate the process of writing a research paper in radiology. By leveraging iResearchNet’s writing services, students can further enhance their research papers with professional assistance, ensuring the highest quality and adherence to academic standards. Explore the realm of radiology research paper topics and unleash your potential to contribute to the advancement of medical imaging and patient care.

100 Radiology Research Paper Topics

Radiology encompasses a broad spectrum of imaging techniques used to diagnose diseases, monitor treatment progress, and guide interventions. This comprehensive list of radiology research paper topics serves as a valuable resource for students in the field of health sciences who are seeking inspiration and guidance for their research endeavors. The following ten categories highlight different areas within radiology, each containing ten thought-provoking topics. Exploring these topics will provide students with a deeper understanding of the diverse research possibilities and current trends within the field of radiology.

Academic Writing, Editing, Proofreading, And Problem Solving Services

Get 10% off with 24start discount code.

Diagnostic Imaging Techniques

  • Comparative analysis of imaging modalities: CT, MRI, and PET-CT.
  • The role of artificial intelligence in radiological image interpretation.
  • Advancements in digital mammography for breast cancer screening.
  • Emerging techniques in nuclear medicine imaging.
  • Image-guided biopsy: Enhancing accuracy and safety.
  • Application of radiomics in predicting treatment response.
  • Dual-energy CT: Expanding diagnostic capabilities.
  • Radiological evaluation of traumatic brain injuries.
  • Imaging techniques for evaluating cardiovascular diseases.
  • Radiographic evaluation of pulmonary nodules: Challenges and advancements.

Interventional Radiology

  • Minimally invasive treatments for liver tumors: Embolization techniques.
  • Radiofrequency ablation in the management of renal cell carcinoma.
  • Role of interventional radiology in the treatment of peripheral artery disease.
  • Transarterial chemoembolization in hepatocellular carcinoma.
  • Evaluation of uterine artery embolization for the treatment of fibroids.
  • Percutaneous vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty: Efficacy and complications.
  • Endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms: Long-term outcomes.
  • Interventional radiology in the management of deep vein thrombosis.
  • Transcatheter aortic valve replacement: Imaging considerations.
  • Emerging techniques in interventional oncology.

Radiation Safety and Dose Optimization

  • Strategies for reducing radiation dose in pediatric imaging.
  • Imaging modalities with low radiation exposure: Current advancements.
  • Effective use of dose monitoring systems in radiology departments.
  • The impact of artificial intelligence on radiation dose optimization.
  • Optimization of radiation therapy treatment plans: Balancing efficacy and safety.
  • Radioprotective measures for patients and healthcare professionals.
  • The role of radiology in addressing radiation-induced risks.
  • Evaluating the long-term effects of radiation exposure in diagnostic imaging.
  • Radiation dose tracking and reporting: Implementing best practices.
  • Patient education and communication regarding radiation risks.

Radiology in Oncology

  • Imaging techniques for early detection and staging of lung cancer.
  • Quantitative imaging biomarkers for predicting treatment response in solid tumors.
  • Radiogenomics: Linking imaging features to genetic profiles in cancer.
  • The role of imaging in assessing tumor angiogenesis.
  • Radiological evaluation of lymphoma: Challenges and advancements.
  • Imaging-guided interventions in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.
  • Assessment of tumor heterogeneity using functional imaging techniques.
  • Radiomics and machine learning in predicting treatment outcomes in cancer.
  • Multimodal imaging in the evaluation of brain tumors.
  • Imaging surveillance after cancer treatment: Optimizing follow-up protocols.

Radiology in Musculoskeletal Disorders

  • Imaging modalities in the evaluation of sports-related injuries.
  • The role of imaging in diagnosing and monitoring rheumatoid arthritis.
  • Assessment of bone health using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA).
  • Imaging techniques for evaluating osteoarthritis progression.
  • Imaging-guided interventions in the management of musculoskeletal tumors.
  • Role of imaging in diagnosing and managing spinal disorders.
  • Evaluation of traumatic injuries using radiography, CT, and MRI.
  • Imaging of joint prostheses: Complications and assessment techniques.
  • Imaging features and classifications of bone fractures.
  • Musculoskeletal ultrasound in the diagnosis of soft tissue injuries.

Neuroradiology

  • Advanced neuroimaging techniques for early detection of neurodegenerative diseases.
  • Imaging evaluation of acute stroke: Current guidelines and advancements.
  • Role of functional MRI in mapping brain functions.
  • Imaging of brain tumors: Classification and treatment planning.
  • Diffusion tensor imaging in assessing white matter integrity.
  • Neuroimaging in the evaluation of multiple sclerosis.
  • Imaging techniques for the assessment of epilepsy.
  • Radiological evaluation of neurovascular diseases.
  • Imaging of cranial nerve disorders: Diagnosis and management.
  • Radiological assessment of developmental brain abnormalities.

Pediatric Radiology

  • Radiation dose reduction strategies in pediatric imaging.
  • Imaging evaluation of congenital heart diseases in children.
  • Role of imaging in the diagnosis and management of pediatric oncology.
  • Imaging of pediatric gastrointestinal disorders.
  • Evaluation of developmental hip dysplasia using ultrasound and radiography.
  • Imaging features and management of pediatric musculoskeletal infections.
  • Neuroimaging in the assessment of pediatric neurodevelopmental disorders.
  • Radiological evaluation of pediatric respiratory conditions.
  • Imaging techniques for the evaluation of pediatric abdominal emergencies.
  • Imaging-guided interventions in pediatric patients.

Breast Imaging

  • Advances in digital mammography for early breast cancer detection.
  • The role of tomosynthesis in breast imaging.
  • Imaging evaluation of breast implants: Complications and assessment.
  • Radiogenomic analysis of breast cancer subtypes.
  • Contrast-enhanced mammography: Diagnostic benefits and challenges.
  • Emerging techniques in breast MRI for high-risk populations.
  • Evaluation of breast density and its implications for cancer risk.
  • Role of molecular breast imaging in dense breast tissue evaluation.
  • Radiological evaluation of male breast disorders.
  • The impact of artificial intelligence on breast cancer screening.

Cardiac Imaging

  • Imaging evaluation of coronary artery disease: Current techniques and challenges.
  • Role of cardiac CT angiography in the assessment of structural heart diseases.
  • Imaging of cardiac tumors: Diagnosis and treatment considerations.
  • Advanced imaging techniques for assessing myocardial viability.
  • Evaluation of valvular heart diseases using echocardiography and MRI.
  • Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging in the evaluation of cardiomyopathies.
  • Role of nuclear cardiology in the assessment of cardiac function.
  • Imaging evaluation of congenital heart diseases in adults.
  • Radiological assessment of cardiac arrhythmias.
  • Imaging-guided interventions in structural heart diseases.

Abdominal and Pelvic Imaging

  • Evaluation of hepatobiliary diseases using imaging techniques.
  • Imaging features and classification of renal masses.
  • Radiological assessment of gastrointestinal bleeding.
  • Imaging evaluation of pancreatic diseases: Challenges and advancements.
  • Evaluation of pelvic floor disorders using MRI and ultrasound.
  • Role of imaging in diagnosing and staging gynecological cancers.
  • Imaging of abdominal and pelvic trauma: Current guidelines and techniques.
  • Radiological evaluation of genitourinary disorders.
  • Imaging features of abdominal and pelvic infections.
  • Assessment of abdominal and pelvic vascular diseases using imaging techniques.

This comprehensive list of radiology research paper topics highlights the vast range of research possibilities within the field of medical imaging. Each category offers unique insights and avenues for exploration, enabling students to delve into various aspects of radiology. By choosing a topic of interest and relevance, students can contribute to the advancement of medical imaging and patient care. The provided topics serve as a starting point for students to engage in in-depth research and produce high-quality research papers.

Radiology: Exploring the Range of Research Paper Topics

Introduction: Radiology plays a crucial role in modern healthcare, providing valuable insights into the diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of various medical conditions. As a dynamic and rapidly evolving field, radiology offers a wide range of research opportunities for students in the health sciences. This article aims to explore the diverse spectrum of research paper topics within radiology, shedding light on the current trends, innovations, and challenges in the field.

Radiology in Diagnostic Imaging : Diagnostic imaging is one of the core areas of radiology, encompassing various modalities such as X-ray, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ultrasound, and nuclear medicine. Research topics in this domain may include advancements in imaging techniques, comparative analysis of modalities, radiomics, and the integration of artificial intelligence in image interpretation. Students can explore how these technological advancements enhance diagnostic accuracy, improve patient outcomes, and optimize radiation exposure.

Interventional Radiology : Interventional radiology focuses on minimally invasive procedures performed under image guidance. Research topics in this area can cover a wide range of interventions, such as angioplasty, embolization, radiofrequency ablation, and image-guided biopsies. Students can delve into the latest techniques, outcomes, and complications associated with interventional procedures, as well as explore the emerging role of interventional radiology in managing various conditions, including vascular diseases, cancer, and pain management.

Radiation Safety and Dose Optimization : Radiation safety is a critical aspect of radiology practice. Research in this field aims to minimize radiation exposure to patients and healthcare professionals while maintaining optimal diagnostic image quality. Topics may include strategies for reducing radiation dose in pediatric imaging, dose monitoring systems, the impact of artificial intelligence on radiation dose optimization, and radioprotective measures. Students can investigate how to strike a balance between effective imaging and patient safety, exploring advancements in dose reduction techniques and the implementation of best practices.

Radiology in Oncology : Radiology plays a vital role in the diagnosis, staging, and treatment response assessment in cancer patients. Research topics in this area can encompass the use of imaging techniques for early detection, tumor characterization, response prediction, and treatment planning. Students can explore the integration of radiomics, machine learning, and molecular imaging in oncology research, as well as advancements in functional imaging and image-guided interventions.

Radiology in Neuroimaging : Neuroimaging is a specialized field within radiology that focuses on imaging the brain and central nervous system. Research topics in neuroimaging can cover areas such as stroke imaging, neurodegenerative diseases, brain tumors, neurovascular disorders, and functional imaging for mapping brain functions. Students can explore the latest imaging techniques, image analysis tools, and their clinical applications in understanding and diagnosing various neurological conditions.

Radiology in Musculoskeletal Imaging : Musculoskeletal imaging involves the evaluation of bone, joint, and soft tissue disorders. Research topics in this area can encompass imaging techniques for sports-related injuries, arthritis, musculoskeletal tumors, spinal disorders, and trauma. Students can explore the role of advanced imaging modalities such as MRI and ultrasound in diagnosing and managing musculoskeletal conditions, as well as the use of imaging-guided interventions for treatment.

Pediatric Radiology : Pediatric radiology focuses on imaging children, who have unique anatomical and physiological considerations. Research topics in this field may include radiation dose reduction strategies in pediatric imaging, imaging evaluation of congenital anomalies, pediatric oncology imaging, and imaging assessment of developmental disorders. Students can explore how to tailor imaging protocols for children, minimize radiation exposure, and improve diagnostic accuracy in pediatric patients.

Breast Imaging : Breast imaging is essential for the early detection and diagnosis of breast cancer. Research topics in this area can cover advancements in mammography, tomosynthesis, breast MRI, and molecular imaging. Students can explore topics related to breast density, imaging-guided biopsies, breast cancer screening, and the impact of artificial intelligence in breast imaging. Additionally, they can investigate the use of imaging techniques for evaluating breast implants and assessing high-risk populations.

Cardiac Imaging : Cardiac imaging focuses on the evaluation of heart structure and function. Research topics in this field may include imaging techniques for coronary artery disease, valvular heart diseases, cardiomyopathies, and cardiac tumors. Students can explore the role of cardiac CT, MRI, nuclear cardiology, and echocardiography in diagnosing and managing various cardiac conditions. Additionally, they can investigate the use of imaging in guiding interventional procedures and assessing treatment outcomes.

Abdominal and Pelvic Imaging : Abdominal and pelvic imaging involves the evaluation of organs and structures within the abdominal and pelvic cavities. Research topics in this area can encompass imaging of the liver, kidneys, gastrointestinal tract, pancreas, genitourinary system, and pelvic floor. Students can explore topics related to imaging techniques, evaluation of specific diseases or conditions, and the role of imaging in guiding interventions. Additionally, they can investigate emerging modalities such as elastography and diffusion-weighted imaging in abdominal and pelvic imaging.

Radiology offers a vast array of research opportunities for students in the field of health sciences. The topics discussed in this article provide a glimpse into the breadth and depth of research possibilities within radiology. By exploring these research areas, students can contribute to advancements in diagnostic accuracy, treatment planning, and patient care. With the rapid evolution of imaging technologies and the integration of artificial intelligence, the future of radiology research holds immense potential for improving healthcare outcomes.

Choosing Radiology Research Paper Topics

Introduction: Selecting a research topic is a crucial step in the journey of writing a radiology research paper. It determines the focus of your study and influences the impact your research can have in the field. To help you make an informed choice, we have compiled expert advice on selecting radiology research paper topics. By following these tips, you can identify a relevant and engaging research topic that aligns with your interests and contributes to the advancement of radiology knowledge.

  • Identify Your Interests : Start by reflecting on your own interests within the field of radiology. Consider which subspecialties or areas of radiology intrigue you the most. Are you interested in diagnostic imaging, interventional radiology, radiation safety, oncology imaging, or any other specific area? Identifying your interests will guide you in selecting a topic that excites you and keeps you motivated throughout the research process.
  • Stay Updated on Current Trends : Keep yourself updated on the latest advancements, breakthroughs, and emerging trends in radiology. Read scientific journals, attend conferences, and engage in discussions with experts in the field. By staying informed, you can identify gaps in knowledge or areas that require further investigation, providing you with potential research topics that are timely and relevant.
  • Consult with Faculty or Mentors : Seek guidance from your faculty members or mentors who are experienced in the field of radiology. They can provide valuable insights into potential research areas, ongoing projects, and research gaps. Discuss your research interests with them and ask for their suggestions and recommendations. Their expertise and guidance can help you narrow down your research topic and refine your research question.
  • Conduct a Literature Review : Conducting a thorough literature review is an essential step in choosing a research topic. It allows you to familiarize yourself with the existing body of knowledge, identify research gaps, and build a strong foundation for your study. Analyze recent research papers, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses related to radiology to identify areas that need further investigation or where controversies exist.
  • Brainstorm Research Questions : Once you have gained an understanding of the current state of research in radiology, brainstorm potential research questions. Consider the gaps or controversies you identified during your literature review. Develop research questions that address these gaps and contribute to the existing knowledge. Ensure that your research questions are clear, focused, and answerable within the scope of your study.
  • Consider the Practicality and Feasibility : When selecting a research topic, consider the practicality and feasibility of conducting the study. Evaluate the availability of resources, access to data, research facilities, and ethical considerations. Assess the time frame and potential constraints that may impact your research. Choosing a topic that is feasible within your given resources and time frame will ensure a successful and manageable research experience.
  • Collaborate with Peers : Consider collaborating with your peers or forming a research group to enhance your research experience. Collaborative research allows for a sharing of ideas, resources, and expertise, fostering a supportive environment. By working together, you can explore more complex research topics, conduct multicenter studies, and generate more impactful findings.
  • Seek Multidisciplinary Perspectives : Radiology intersects with various other medical disciplines. Consider exploring interdisciplinary research topics that integrate radiology with fields such as oncology, cardiology, neurology, or orthopedics. By incorporating multidisciplinary perspectives, you can address complex healthcare challenges and contribute to a broader understanding of patient care.
  • Choose a Topic with Clinical Relevance : Select a research topic that has direct clinical relevance. Focus on topics that can potentially influence patient outcomes, improve diagnostic accuracy, optimize treatment strategies, or enhance patient safety. By choosing a clinically relevant topic, you can contribute to the advancement of radiology practice and have a positive impact on patient care.
  • Seek Ethical Considerations : Ensure that your research topic adheres to ethical considerations in radiology research. Patient privacy, confidentiality, and informed consent should be prioritized when conducting studies involving human subjects. Familiarize yourself with the ethical guidelines and regulations specific to radiology research and ensure that your study design and data collection methods are in line with these principles.

Choosing a radiology research paper topic requires careful consideration and alignment with your interests, expertise, and the current trends in the field. By following the expert advice provided in this section, you can select a research topic that is engaging, relevant, and contributes to the advancement of radiology knowledge. Remember to consult with mentors, conduct a thorough literature review, and consider practicality and feasibility. With a well-chosen research topic, you can embark on an exciting journey of exploration, innovation, and contribution to the field of radiology.

How to Write a Radiology Research Paper

Introduction: Writing a radiology research paper requires a systematic approach and attention to detail. It is essential to effectively communicate your research findings, methodology, and conclusions to contribute to the body of knowledge in the field. In this section, we will provide you with valuable tips on how to write a successful radiology research paper. By following these guidelines, you can ensure that your paper is well-structured, informative, and impactful.

  • Define the Research Question : Start by clearly defining your research question or objective. It serves as the foundation of your research paper and guides your entire study. Ensure that your research question is specific, focused, and relevant to the field of radiology. Clearly articulate the purpose of your study and its potential implications.
  • Conduct a Thorough Literature Review : Before diving into writing, conduct a comprehensive literature review to familiarize yourself with the existing body of knowledge in your research area. Identify key studies, seminal papers, and relevant research articles that will support your research. Analyze and synthesize the literature to identify gaps, controversies, or areas for further investigation.
  • Develop a Well-Structured Outline : Create a clear and well-structured outline for your research paper. An outline serves as a roadmap and helps you organize your thoughts, arguments, and evidence. Divide your paper into logical sections such as introduction, literature review, methodology, results, discussion, and conclusion. Ensure a logical flow of ideas and information throughout the paper.
  • Write an Engaging Introduction : The introduction is the opening section of your research paper and should capture the reader’s attention. Start with a compelling hook that introduces the importance of the research topic. Provide background information, context, and the rationale for your study. Clearly state the research question or objective and outline the structure of your paper.
  • Conduct Rigorous Methodology : Describe your research methodology in detail, ensuring transparency and reproducibility. Explain your study design, data collection methods, sample size, inclusion/exclusion criteria, and statistical analyses. Clearly outline the steps you took to ensure scientific rigor and address potential biases. Include any ethical considerations and institutional review board approvals, if applicable.
  • Present Clear and Concise Results : Present your research findings in a clear, concise, and organized manner. Use tables, figures, and charts to visually represent your data. Provide accurate and relevant statistical analyses to support your results. Explain the significance and implications of your findings and their alignment with your research question.
  • Analyze and Interpret Results : In the discussion section, analyze and interpret your research results in the context of existing literature. Compare and contrast your findings with previous studies, highlighting similarities, differences, and potential explanations. Discuss any limitations or challenges encountered during the study and propose areas for future research.
  • Ensure Clear and Coherent Writing : Maintain clarity, coherence, and precision in your writing. Use concise and straightforward language to convey your ideas effectively. Avoid jargon or excessive technical terms that may hinder understanding. Clearly define any acronyms or abbreviations used in your paper. Ensure that each paragraph has a clear topic sentence and flows smoothly into the next.
  • Citations and References : Properly cite all the sources used in your research paper. Follow the citation style recommended by your institution or the journal you intend to submit to (e.g., APA, MLA, or Chicago). Include in-text citations for direct quotes, paraphrased information, or any borrowed ideas. Create a comprehensive reference list at the end of your paper, following the formatting guidelines.
  • Revise and Edit : Take the time to revise and edit your research paper before final submission. Review the content, structure, and organization of your paper. Check for grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, and typos. Ensure that your paper adheres to the specified word count and formatting guidelines. Seek feedback from colleagues or mentors to gain valuable insights and suggestions for improvement.

Conclusion: Writing a radiology research paper requires careful planning, attention to detail, and effective communication. By following the tips provided in this section, you can write a well-structured and impactful research paper in the field of radiology. Define a clear research question, conduct a thorough literature review, develop a strong outline, and present your findings with clarity. Remember to adhere to proper citation guidelines and revise your paper before submission. With these guidelines in mind, you can contribute to the advancement of radiology knowledge and make a meaningful impact in the field.

iResearchNet’s Writing Services

Introduction: At iResearchNet, we understand the challenges faced by students in the field of health sciences when it comes to writing research papers, including those in radiology. Our writing services are designed to provide you with expert assistance and support throughout your research paper journey. With our team of experienced writers, in-depth research capabilities, and commitment to excellence, we offer a range of services that will help you achieve your academic goals and ensure the success of your radiology research papers.

  • Expert Degree-Holding Writers : Our team consists of expert writers who hold advanced degrees in various fields, including radiology and health sciences. They possess extensive knowledge and expertise in their respective areas, allowing them to deliver high-quality and well-researched papers.
  • Custom Written Works : We understand that each research paper is unique, and we tailor our services to meet your specific requirements. Our writers craft custom-written research papers that align with your research objectives, ensuring originality and authenticity in every piece.
  • In-Depth Research : Research is at the core of any high-quality paper. Our writers conduct comprehensive and in-depth research to gather relevant literature, scientific articles, and other credible sources to support your research paper. They have access to reputable databases and libraries to ensure that your paper is backed by the latest and most reliable information.
  • Custom Formatting : Formatting your research paper according to the specified guidelines can be a challenging task. Our writers are well-versed in various formatting styles, including APA, MLA, Chicago/Turabian, and Harvard. They ensure that your paper adheres to the required formatting standards, including citations, references, and overall document structure.
  • Top Quality : We prioritize delivering top-quality research papers that meet the highest academic standards. Our writers pay attention to detail, ensuring accurate information, logical flow, and coherence in your paper. We conduct thorough editing and proofreading to eliminate any errors and improve the overall quality of your work.
  • Customized Solutions : We understand that every student has unique research requirements. Our services are tailored to provide customized solutions that address your specific needs. Whether you need assistance with topic selection, literature review, methodology, data analysis, or any other aspect of your research paper, we are here to support you at every step.
  • Flexible Pricing : We strive to make our services affordable and accessible to students. Our pricing structure is flexible, allowing you to choose the package that suits your budget and requirements. We offer competitive rates without compromising on the quality of our work.
  • Short Deadlines : We recognize the importance of meeting deadlines. Our team is equipped to handle urgent orders with short turnaround times. Whether you have a tight deadline or need assistance in a time-sensitive situation, we can deliver high-quality research papers within as little as three hours.
  • Timely Delivery : Punctuality is a priority for us. We understand the significance of submitting your research papers on time. Our writers work diligently to ensure that your paper is delivered within the agreed-upon timeframe, allowing you ample time for review and submission.
  • 24/7 Support : We provide round-the-clock support to address any queries or concerns you may have. Our customer support team is available 24/7 to assist you with any questions related to our services, order status, or any other inquiries you may have.
  • Absolute Privacy : We prioritize your privacy and confidentiality. Rest assured that all your personal information and research paper details are handled with the utmost discretion. We adhere to strict privacy policies to protect your identity and ensure confidentiality throughout the process.
  • Easy Order Tracking : We provide a user-friendly platform that allows you to easily track the progress of your order. You can stay updated on the status of your research paper, communicate with your assigned writer, and receive notifications regarding the completion and delivery of your paper.
  • Money Back Guarantee : We are committed to your satisfaction. In the rare event that you are not satisfied with the delivered research paper, we offer a money back guarantee. Our aim is to ensure that you are fully content with the final product and receive the value you expect.

At iResearchNet, we understand the challenges students face when it comes to writing research papers in radiology and other health sciences. Our comprehensive range of writing services is designed to provide you with expert assistance, customized solutions, and top-quality research papers. With our team of experienced writers, in-depth research capabilities, and commitment to excellence, we are dedicated to helping you succeed in your academic endeavors. Place your order with iResearchNet and experience the benefits of our professional writing services for your radiology research papers.

Unlock Your Research Potential with iResearchNet

Are you ready to take your radiology research papers to the next level? Look no further than iResearchNet. Our team of expert writers, in-depth research capabilities, and commitment to excellence make us the perfect partner for your academic success. With our range of comprehensive writing services, you can unlock your research potential and achieve outstanding results in your radiology studies.

Why settle for average when you can have exceptional? Our team of expert degree-holding writers is ready to work with you, providing custom-written research papers that meet your specific requirements. We delve deep into the world of radiology, conducting in-depth research and crafting well-structured papers that showcase your knowledge and expertise.

Don’t let the complexities of choosing a research topic hold you back. Our expert advice on selecting radiology research paper topics will guide you through the process, ensuring that you choose a topic that aligns with your interests and has the potential to make a meaningful contribution to the field of radiology.

It’s time to unleash your potential and achieve academic excellence in your radiology studies. Place your trust in iResearchNet and experience the exceptional quality and support that our writing services offer. Let us be your partner in success as you embark on your journey of writing remarkable radiology research papers.

Take the first step towards elevating your radiology research papers by contacting us today. Our dedicated support team is available 24/7 to assist you with any inquiries and guide you through the ordering process. Don’t settle for mediocrity when you can achieve greatness with iResearchNet. Unlock your research potential and exceed your academic expectations.

ORDER HIGH QUALITY CUSTOM PAPER

research proposal example in radiography

helpful professor logo

17 Research Proposal Examples

research proposal example sections definition and purpose, explained below

A research proposal systematically and transparently outlines a proposed research project.

The purpose of a research proposal is to demonstrate a project’s viability and the researcher’s preparedness to conduct an academic study. It serves as a roadmap for the researcher.

The process holds value both externally (for accountability purposes and often as a requirement for a grant application) and intrinsic value (for helping the researcher to clarify the mechanics, purpose, and potential signficance of the study).

Key sections of a research proposal include: the title, abstract, introduction, literature review, research design and methods, timeline, budget, outcomes and implications, references, and appendix. Each is briefly explained below.

Watch my Guide: How to Write a Research Proposal

Get your Template for Writing your Research Proposal Here (With AI Prompts!)

Research Proposal Sample Structure

Title: The title should present a concise and descriptive statement that clearly conveys the core idea of the research projects. Make it as specific as possible. The reader should immediately be able to grasp the core idea of the intended research project. Often, the title is left too vague and does not help give an understanding of what exactly the study looks at.

Abstract: Abstracts are usually around 250-300 words and provide an overview of what is to follow – including the research problem , objectives, methods, expected outcomes, and significance of the study. Use it as a roadmap and ensure that, if the abstract is the only thing someone reads, they’ll get a good fly-by of what will be discussed in the peice.

Introduction: Introductions are all about contextualization. They often set the background information with a statement of the problem. At the end of the introduction, the reader should understand what the rationale for the study truly is. I like to see the research questions or hypotheses included in the introduction and I like to get a good understanding of what the significance of the research will be. It’s often easiest to write the introduction last

Literature Review: The literature review dives deep into the existing literature on the topic, demosntrating your thorough understanding of the existing literature including themes, strengths, weaknesses, and gaps in the literature. It serves both to demonstrate your knowledge of the field and, to demonstrate how the proposed study will fit alongside the literature on the topic. A good literature review concludes by clearly demonstrating how your research will contribute something new and innovative to the conversation in the literature.

Research Design and Methods: This section needs to clearly demonstrate how the data will be gathered and analyzed in a systematic and academically sound manner. Here, you need to demonstrate that the conclusions of your research will be both valid and reliable. Common points discussed in the research design and methods section include highlighting the research paradigm, methodologies, intended population or sample to be studied, data collection techniques, and data analysis procedures . Toward the end of this section, you are encouraged to also address ethical considerations and limitations of the research process , but also to explain why you chose your research design and how you are mitigating the identified risks and limitations.

Timeline: Provide an outline of the anticipated timeline for the study. Break it down into its various stages (including data collection, data analysis, and report writing). The goal of this section is firstly to establish a reasonable breakdown of steps for you to follow and secondly to demonstrate to the assessors that your project is practicable and feasible.

Budget: Estimate the costs associated with the research project and include evidence for your estimations. Typical costs include staffing costs, equipment, travel, and data collection tools. When applying for a scholarship, the budget should demonstrate that you are being responsible with your expensive and that your funding application is reasonable.

Expected Outcomes and Implications: A discussion of the anticipated findings or results of the research, as well as the potential contributions to the existing knowledge, theory, or practice in the field. This section should also address the potential impact of the research on relevant stakeholders and any broader implications for policy or practice.

References: A complete list of all the sources cited in the research proposal, formatted according to the required citation style. This demonstrates the researcher’s familiarity with the relevant literature and ensures proper attribution of ideas and information.

Appendices (if applicable): Any additional materials, such as questionnaires, interview guides, or consent forms, that provide further information or support for the research proposal. These materials should be included as appendices at the end of the document.

Research Proposal Examples

Research proposals often extend anywhere between 2,000 and 15,000 words in length. The following snippets are samples designed to briefly demonstrate what might be discussed in each section.

1. Education Studies Research Proposals

See some real sample pieces:

  • Assessment of the perceptions of teachers towards a new grading system
  • Does ICT use in secondary classrooms help or hinder student learning?
  • Digital technologies in focus project
  • Urban Middle School Teachers’ Experiences of the Implementation of
  • Restorative Justice Practices
  • Experiences of students of color in service learning

Consider this hypothetical education research proposal:

The Impact of Game-Based Learning on Student Engagement and Academic Performance in Middle School Mathematics

Abstract: The proposed study will explore multiplayer game-based learning techniques in middle school mathematics curricula and their effects on student engagement. The study aims to contribute to the current literature on game-based learning by examining the effects of multiplayer gaming in learning.

Introduction: Digital game-based learning has long been shunned within mathematics education for fears that it may distract students or lower the academic integrity of the classrooms. However, there is emerging evidence that digital games in math have emerging benefits not only for engagement but also academic skill development. Contributing to this discourse, this study seeks to explore the potential benefits of multiplayer digital game-based learning by examining its impact on middle school students’ engagement and academic performance in a mathematics class.

Literature Review: The literature review has identified gaps in the current knowledge, namely, while game-based learning has been extensively explored, the role of multiplayer games in supporting learning has not been studied.

Research Design and Methods: This study will employ a mixed-methods research design based upon action research in the classroom. A quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test control group design will first be used to compare the academic performance and engagement of middle school students exposed to game-based learning techniques with those in a control group receiving instruction without the aid of technology. Students will also be observed and interviewed in regard to the effect of communication and collaboration during gameplay on their learning.

Timeline: The study will take place across the second term of the school year with a pre-test taking place on the first day of the term and the post-test taking place on Wednesday in Week 10.

Budget: The key budgetary requirements will be the technologies required, including the subscription cost for the identified games and computers.

Expected Outcomes and Implications: It is expected that the findings will contribute to the current literature on game-based learning and inform educational practices, providing educators and policymakers with insights into how to better support student achievement in mathematics.

2. Psychology Research Proposals

See some real examples:

  • A situational analysis of shared leadership in a self-managing team
  • The effect of musical preference on running performance
  • Relationship between self-esteem and disordered eating amongst adolescent females

Consider this hypothetical psychology research proposal:

The Effects of Mindfulness-Based Interventions on Stress Reduction in College Students

Abstract: This research proposal examines the impact of mindfulness-based interventions on stress reduction among college students, using a pre-test/post-test experimental design with both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods .

Introduction: College students face heightened stress levels during exam weeks. This can affect both mental health and test performance. This study explores the potential benefits of mindfulness-based interventions such as meditation as a way to mediate stress levels in the weeks leading up to exam time.

Literature Review: Existing research on mindfulness-based meditation has shown the ability for mindfulness to increase metacognition, decrease anxiety levels, and decrease stress. Existing literature has looked at workplace, high school and general college-level applications. This study will contribute to the corpus of literature by exploring the effects of mindfulness directly in the context of exam weeks.

Research Design and Methods: Participants ( n= 234 ) will be randomly assigned to either an experimental group, receiving 5 days per week of 10-minute mindfulness-based interventions, or a control group, receiving no intervention. Data will be collected through self-report questionnaires, measuring stress levels, semi-structured interviews exploring participants’ experiences, and students’ test scores.

Timeline: The study will begin three weeks before the students’ exam week and conclude after each student’s final exam. Data collection will occur at the beginning (pre-test of self-reported stress levels) and end (post-test) of the three weeks.

Expected Outcomes and Implications: The study aims to provide evidence supporting the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions in reducing stress among college students in the lead up to exams, with potential implications for mental health support and stress management programs on college campuses.

3. Sociology Research Proposals

  • Understanding emerging social movements: A case study of ‘Jersey in Transition’
  • The interaction of health, education and employment in Western China
  • Can we preserve lower-income affordable neighbourhoods in the face of rising costs?

Consider this hypothetical sociology research proposal:

The Impact of Social Media Usage on Interpersonal Relationships among Young Adults

Abstract: This research proposal investigates the effects of social media usage on interpersonal relationships among young adults, using a longitudinal mixed-methods approach with ongoing semi-structured interviews to collect qualitative data.

Introduction: Social media platforms have become a key medium for the development of interpersonal relationships, particularly for young adults. This study examines the potential positive and negative effects of social media usage on young adults’ relationships and development over time.

Literature Review: A preliminary review of relevant literature has demonstrated that social media usage is central to development of a personal identity and relationships with others with similar subcultural interests. However, it has also been accompanied by data on mental health deline and deteriorating off-screen relationships. The literature is to-date lacking important longitudinal data on these topics.

Research Design and Methods: Participants ( n = 454 ) will be young adults aged 18-24. Ongoing self-report surveys will assess participants’ social media usage, relationship satisfaction, and communication patterns. A subset of participants will be selected for longitudinal in-depth interviews starting at age 18 and continuing for 5 years.

Timeline: The study will be conducted over a period of five years, including recruitment, data collection, analysis, and report writing.

Expected Outcomes and Implications: This study aims to provide insights into the complex relationship between social media usage and interpersonal relationships among young adults, potentially informing social policies and mental health support related to social media use.

4. Nursing Research Proposals

  • Does Orthopaedic Pre-assessment clinic prepare the patient for admission to hospital?
  • Nurses’ perceptions and experiences of providing psychological care to burns patients
  • Registered psychiatric nurse’s practice with mentally ill parents and their children

Consider this hypothetical nursing research proposal:

The Influence of Nurse-Patient Communication on Patient Satisfaction and Health Outcomes following Emergency Cesarians

Abstract: This research will examines the impact of effective nurse-patient communication on patient satisfaction and health outcomes for women following c-sections, utilizing a mixed-methods approach with patient surveys and semi-structured interviews.

Introduction: It has long been known that effective communication between nurses and patients is crucial for quality care. However, additional complications arise following emergency c-sections due to the interaction between new mother’s changing roles and recovery from surgery.

Literature Review: A review of the literature demonstrates the importance of nurse-patient communication, its impact on patient satisfaction, and potential links to health outcomes. However, communication between nurses and new mothers is less examined, and the specific experiences of those who have given birth via emergency c-section are to date unexamined.

Research Design and Methods: Participants will be patients in a hospital setting who have recently had an emergency c-section. A self-report survey will assess their satisfaction with nurse-patient communication and perceived health outcomes. A subset of participants will be selected for in-depth interviews to explore their experiences and perceptions of the communication with their nurses.

Timeline: The study will be conducted over a period of six months, including rolling recruitment, data collection, analysis, and report writing within the hospital.

Expected Outcomes and Implications: This study aims to provide evidence for the significance of nurse-patient communication in supporting new mothers who have had an emergency c-section. Recommendations will be presented for supporting nurses and midwives in improving outcomes for new mothers who had complications during birth.

5. Social Work Research Proposals

  • Experiences of negotiating employment and caring responsibilities of fathers post-divorce
  • Exploring kinship care in the north region of British Columbia

Consider this hypothetical social work research proposal:

The Role of a Family-Centered Intervention in Preventing Homelessness Among At-Risk Youthin a working-class town in Northern England

Abstract: This research proposal investigates the effectiveness of a family-centered intervention provided by a local council area in preventing homelessness among at-risk youth. This case study will use a mixed-methods approach with program evaluation data and semi-structured interviews to collect quantitative and qualitative data .

Introduction: Homelessness among youth remains a significant social issue. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of family-centered interventions in addressing this problem and identify factors that contribute to successful prevention strategies.

Literature Review: A review of the literature has demonstrated several key factors contributing to youth homelessness including lack of parental support, lack of social support, and low levels of family involvement. It also demonstrates the important role of family-centered interventions in addressing this issue. Drawing on current evidence, this study explores the effectiveness of one such intervention in preventing homelessness among at-risk youth in a working-class town in Northern England.

Research Design and Methods: The study will evaluate a new family-centered intervention program targeting at-risk youth and their families. Quantitative data on program outcomes, including housing stability and family functioning, will be collected through program records and evaluation reports. Semi-structured interviews with program staff, participants, and relevant stakeholders will provide qualitative insights into the factors contributing to program success or failure.

Timeline: The study will be conducted over a period of six months, including recruitment, data collection, analysis, and report writing.

Budget: Expenses include access to program evaluation data, interview materials, data analysis software, and any related travel costs for in-person interviews.

Expected Outcomes and Implications: This study aims to provide evidence for the effectiveness of family-centered interventions in preventing youth homelessness, potentially informing the expansion of or necessary changes to social work practices in Northern England.

Research Proposal Template

Get your Detailed Template for Writing your Research Proposal Here (With AI Prompts!)

This is a template for a 2500-word research proposal. You may find it difficult to squeeze everything into this wordcount, but it’s a common wordcount for Honors and MA-level dissertations.

Your research proposal is where you really get going with your study. I’d strongly recommend working closely with your teacher in developing a research proposal that’s consistent with the requirements and culture of your institution, as in my experience it varies considerably. The above template is from my own courses that walk students through research proposals in a British School of Education.

Chris

Chris Drew (PhD)

Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. [Image Descriptor: Photo of Chris]

  • Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 5 Top Tips for Succeeding at University
  • Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 50 Durable Goods Examples
  • Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 100 Consumer Goods Examples
  • Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 30 Globalization Pros and Cons

8 thoughts on “17 Research Proposal Examples”

' src=

Very excellent research proposals

' src=

very helpful

' src=

Very helpful

' src=

Dear Sir, I need some help to write an educational research proposal. Thank you.

' src=

Hi Levi, use the site search bar to ask a question and I’ll likely have a guide already written for your specific question. Thanks for reading!

' src=

very good research proposal

' src=

Thank you so much sir! ❤️

' src=

Very helpful 👌

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Log in using your username and password

  • Search More Search for this keyword Advanced search
  • Latest content
  • For authors
  • Browse by collection
  • BMJ Journals More You are viewing from: Google Indexer

You are here

  • Volume 10, Issue 7
  • Qualitative study to explore radiologist and radiologic technologist perceptions of outcomes patients experience during imaging in the USA
  • Article Text
  • Article info
  • Citation Tools
  • Rapid Responses
  • Article metrics

Download PDF

  • http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7007-6973 Monica Zigman Suchsland 1 ,
  • Maria Jessica Cruz 2 ,
  • Victoria Hardy 3 ,
  • Jeffrey Jarvik 4 ,
  • Gianna McMillan 5 ,
  • Anne Brittain 6 ,
  • Matthew Thompson 1
  • 1 Department of Family Medicine , University of Washington , Seattle , Washington , USA
  • 2 Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences , Stanford University , Stanford , California , USA
  • 3 Department of Public Health and Primary Care , University of Cambridge , Cambridge , Cambridgeshire , UK
  • 4 Departments of Radiology, Neurological Surgery and Health Services, and the Comparative Effectiveness, Cost and Outcomes Research Center , University of Washington , Seattle , Washington , USA
  • 5 Bioethics Institute , Loyola Marymount University , Los Angeles , California , USA
  • 6 Quality Improvement and Outcomes Department , Inova Fairfax Medical Campus , Falls Church , Virginia , USA
  • Correspondence to Monica Zigman Suchsland; mzigman{at}uw.edu

Objective We aimed to explore the patient-centred outcomes (PCOs) radiologists and radiologic technologists perceive to be important to patients undergoing imaging procedures.

Design We conducted a qualitative study of individual semi-structured interviews.

Participants We recruited multiple types of radiologists including general, musculoskeletal neuroradiology, body and breast imagers as well as X-ray, ultrasound, CT or MRI radiologic technologists from Washington and Idaho.

Outcome Thematic analysis was conducted to identify themes and subthemes related to PCOs of imaging procedures.

Results Ten radiologists and six radiology technologists participated. Four main domains of PCOs were identified: emotions, physical factors, knowledge and patient burden. In addition to these outcomes, we also identified patient and provider factors that can potentially moderate these outcomes.

Conclusions Radiologists and technologists perceived outcomes related to the effect of imaging procedures on patients’ emotions, physical well-being, knowledge and burden from financial and opportunity costs to be important to patients undergoing imaging procedures. There are opportunities for the radiology community to measure and use these PCOs in comparisons of imaging procedures and potentially identify areas where these outcomes can be leveraged to drive a more patient-centred approach to radiology.

  • radiology & imaging
  • radiologist
  • radiologic technologist
  • patient preferences

This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited, appropriate credit is given, any changes made indicated, and the use is non-commercial. See:  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ .

https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2019-033961

Statistics from Altmetric.com

Request permissions.

If you wish to reuse any or all of this article please use the link below which will take you to the Copyright Clearance Center’s RightsLink service. You will be able to get a quick price and instant permission to reuse the content in many different ways.

Strengths and limitations of this study

Semi-structured interviews from radiologists and radiologic technologists is an appropriate method to identify outcomes that radiologists and radiologic technologists perceive as important to patients during imaging.

Thematic analysis was used to identify thematic patient outcomes and experiences radiologists and radiology technologists reported in their patient populations.

We believe this is one of the first studies to include the perspectives of radiologic technologists in the exploration of patient-centred outcomes of imaging tests.

A potential weakness of the study is that interviewing both radiologists and technologists covering a variety of imaging specialities and healthcare settings provides some generalisability of perspectives, but may not generalise to all imaging modalities, geographical regions or practice settings.

A potential weakness is that patient outcomes reported in this manuscript were not obtained from the patient perspective, but may still be of importance.

Introduction

The primary focus of imaging test evaluation involves establishing evidence of diagnostic accuracy. 1 There is, however, a growing interest in looking beyond accuracy for additional metrics to more fully evaluate the outcomes of imaging procedures. 2 3 Broadening the scope of how imaging tests are evaluated may lead to more nuanced understanding of the impact tests might have on patient outcomes. Numerous frameworks have been developed to guide the evaluation of imaging tests; 4–8 one of the earliest, by Fineberg, introduced a hierarchical framework that includes patient outcomes. 9 Indeed, this framework placed patient outcomes as one of the most significant measures of clinical efficacy, and suggested that evaluation should include psychological factors as well as more traditional clinical benchmarks. 9 Other researchers have expanded on this model, but all include patient outcomes at or near the top of evidence in effectiveness research. 4–8

Patient outcomes were a somewhat nebulous concept in the original Fineberg framework. Since then, patient-centred outcomes (PCOs) have been defined as: ‘an assessment of harms and benefits highlighting comparisons and outcomes that matter to people; a focus on outcomes that people notice and care about; and the incorporation of a wide variety of settings and diversity of participants’ and have emerged as a research priority. 10 Domains of PCOs can include: emotional (psychological), social, cognitive, behavioural, physical and cost. 11 12 Although evidence to support these domains and outcomes specific to imaging testing has been limited, research from patients to date has identified PCOs related to impacts on emotions, the value of the information gained, as well as physical side effects from the testing process. 13 14 However, there has been little research exploring what radiologists and their care teams, specifically radiologic technologists, perceive as most important to patients. With growing calls for the radiology profession to embrace a more patient-centred approach, understanding the insights of the entire care team may provide key enlightenment into PCOs. Technologists are frontline staff and as a result have direct contact with patients that is unique and this provides them with perspectives that other providers do not have. We aimed to identify the outcomes that radiologists and radiologic technologists perceive as important to patients during imaging.

We conducted a qualitative study using individual semi-structured interviews with radiologists and radiologic technologists, as part of a mixed methods research programme called Patient Centered Outcomes of Diagnostics (PROD), which aims to develop new methods to guide research and comparison of imaging procedures.

Participants were recruited using a convenience sample from sites within a 5-state state (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho (WWAMI)) practice-based research network, the WWAMI Practice and Research Network, as well as contacts through a radiologist on our research team. Volunteers were solicited through email. Participants were eligible if they were either an X-ray, ultrasound, CT or MRI technologist or general, musculoskeletal, neuroradiology, body or breast radiologist. Interested participants provided oral consent to be interviewed and were compensated with a gift card for participation.

The interview guides developed by the study team (MZS, JGJ, AB and MJT) and were informed by the previous diagnostic evaluation frameworks and PCOs reported from previous research with patients, as well as feedback from the PROD study Stakeholder Advisory Board (consisting of patients, clinicians, researchers, industry and scientific organisations). 11 13 15 Interview questions were framed to follow the testing timeline of before, during and after imaging testing. The interview guides included a brief introduction about the study goals and questions on participant demographics, then remaining questions focussed on interviewees’ roles in caring for patients, determining test appropriateness, communicating with patients and observations of patient experiences. Both a radiologist and a radiologic technologist on the research team reviewed each interview guide for relevance and appropriateness to the job roles.

Data collection occurred from February 2017 to December 2017. Enrolled subjects participated in a single semi-structured interview in person or by phone. Interviews lasted from 45 to 60 min and were conducted by a trained interviewer (MZS). The interviewer did not have a prior relationship with study participants and was identified as a research coordinator to the participants. Interviews were audio recorded and transcriptions were checked for accuracy. Interviews (n=16) were conducted until data saturation was achieved, defined as: no additional themes emerged from the interview. 16

Transcripts were uploaded to qualitative analysis software (Dedoose V.7.0.23, Los Angeles, California: SocioCultural Research Consultants, LLC, www.dedoose.com ). Researchers (MJC, MZS and VH) immersed themselves in the same three transcript texts. Each researcher identified text excerpts important to the research question and derived codes from this text. The researchers compared codes and refined codes as needed (MJC, MZS and VH), to develop a codebook of a defined set of codes. This codebook was applied to an additional transcript and refined through an iterative process until a final codebook was developed. Final codes included: test appropriateness, communication, interaction with the patient, outcomes from accuracy, barriers or facilitators to testing, impacts on care delivery, accommodations made for patients, perception of patient outcomes and what drives patients. Two researchers (MJC and MZS) applied the final codebook to the remaining transcripts; discrepancies in coding were reconciled by a third researcher (VH). The initial four transcripts were also reviewed using the final list of codes. Code excerpts were then reviewed by three researchers (MJC, MZS and VH) and analysed for common themes and subthemes through thematic analysis. 17 Themes were compared with previous findings from the PROD study to confirm outcomes and to present novel outcomes that emerged from this new perspective. 13 18

Patient and public involvement

The PROD study recruited 26 stakeholders to participate on the PROD study Stakeholder Advisory Board. There were eight patients/patient advocates, four primary care clinicians, one radiology technologist (one radiologist on the core research team), five researchers with expertise in methods evaluating diagnostic tests, four imaging industry representatives, three senior staff from the American College of Radiology and one stakeholder from a healthcare non-profit organisation. Stakeholders were involved in study design through development of the interview guide, evidence interpretation on identification of study themes and development of the manuscript. Stakeholders were not involved in recruitment or data collection for this study. Lastly, there is no formal plan to disseminate results to specific participants, we will however, share study results back to the study sites that participated as recruitment sites.

Data availability

No additional data available.

Participants included 10 radiologists specialising in body (abdominal, cardiovascular, cardiothoracic), neuroradiology, musculoskeletal, generalist and breast imaging, as well as six radiologic technologists with specialities of sonography, X-ray, MRI and CT ( table 1 ). No participants dropped out of the study due to the sampling method and short time frame.

  • View inline

Characteristics of radiologists and radiologic technologists interviewed

Four domains of PCOs were identified through thematic analysis. Included in these domains are specific outcomes, as well as moderators that appear to influence these outcomes. We applied the definition of moderator as a variable that specifies when certain effects hold, such as the direction or the strength of a relationship between the predictor (in this case imaging testing) and the PCO. 19 ( figure 1 ).

  • Download figure
  • Open in new tab
  • Download powerpoint

Domains of patient-centred outcomes from imaging procedures and potential moderating factors. Domains: physical, knowledge, patient burden and emotion can be found in the four boxes at the centre of the figure with branching boxes for specific patient outcomes and moderators that were identified for each domain.

Emotional outcomes

Radiology providers identified a range of emotional outcomes tied to their perceptions of patients’ responses to imaging testing. Negative emotions appeared in the pre-testing phase in the form of fear, worry, stress or anxiety about future test results. Radiology providers observed that these emotions often continued through the process of image acquisition, described by the following radiologist:

In terms of the patient experience, people are anxious. Especially since we only do targeted ultrasound if there is a specific area of concern. When we're doing an ultrasound, they are worried about what we might be seeing. If you don't say anything, they get worried. If you take pictures, they get worried. – R9

As evidenced from the quote above, factors such as patient’s level of knowledge, the physical experience and provider actions were believed to moderate patients’ emotional responses to imaging. Communication often helped to attenuate negative emotions by reducing anxiety, helping patients feel comforted and reassured:

I did a breast biopsy earlier today. That woman was scared to death. She had never had one…She was worried it was gonna hurt, and I had to take more time than normal to explain things… Her impact, at least coming in, was she was very scared and nervous. When she left she was happy, because she got good care. – R8

Technologists appeared to play a particularly prominent role during the testing process in helping to induce positive emotions, as explained by one technologist:

They come in… and they're very scared… I feel like if you give them excellent patient care, I feel like it calms them down a little bit, make them feel comfortable, just reassuring them that they're in good hands, that I'll take care of them. – T4

Other factors that were identified as moderating patient’s emotional reactions included patients’ cultural background, the reason for testing and prior experience with imaging. A further moderator appeared to be patients’ apparent loss of control over the imaging testing process, which could further influence their emotional responses.

It seems like a lot of the time that they [patients] just kind of go with the flow… It seems like a lot of them don't understand that they have the opportunity to refuse that [imaging test] or not necessarily refuse but to question exactly why they're going to be having a certain study. – T2

Physical outcomes

Patients’ physical experiences were readily apparent to radiology providers, and included level of comfort or discomfort/pain, vulnerability/exposure and side effects of the testing procedure. A number of technologists described that making the patient as comfortable as possible sometimes conflicted with their goal of trying to obtain optimal quality of images. This was sometimes complicated by the particular needs of a patient and the restrictions of imaging modalities to meet these needs (eg, patient body size or physical limitations). One technologist explained the interactions between physical discomfort and image quality:

She was just hurting, it just hurt. And I tried to make sure that I didn't make it worse. So she cried the whole time… You just kind of have to do it [imaging test], and try to be careful. – T1

Interviewees felt that some patients are particularly vulnerable or physically exposed during imaging. This physical experience was often perceived as being influenced by patients’ cultural backgrounds:

There's a certain population around our area and just people in general depending on how you were raised, that disrobing is completely like, whoa, you just asked me to take my clothes off. That's something that I've come across a few times, but people are like, well, I'm not so sure I can do that. – T2

Radiology providers were aware of physical adverse reactions to contrast media and radiation exposure. While acknowledging these risks, their level of communication about them to patients varied among providers, but was typically minimised.

I think there's almost no risk to any diagnostic test we do… Apart from bad hardware interactions with MRI… There's a baseline risk to using ionising radiation, but it's tremendously low. It's one of those things that you have to validate the concern, but at the same time trying to explain that there's no real concern… I think it's because it's a lack of familiarity on the patient’s part of how the stuff works and people worry about stuff. – R1

Knowledge outcomes

Radiology providers noted several outcomes within the domain of knowledge. One outcome was the extent to which the imaging test was able to fulfil patients’ expectations of the information they hoped to gain from the test. An expectation that testing would yield answers to a patient’s concerns, and pressure from the patient themselves to conduct imaging to ‘find the answer’ was noted by interviewees:

I think that imaging is kind of a necessity in the patient's mind now. It used to be prescription drugs, but it's like they come into the emergency department or their doctor's office and they expect us to look inside their body somehow and give them an answer. I think it's just a huge role for the patient's peace of mind even. Like I've got chest pain, I want you to do a chest X-ray… – T6

At other times, expectations to provide answers could not be met. This occurred with patients who appeared to have unrealistic expectation of the imaging procedure.

A lot of times there's unreal expectations placed on an exam where they think they're going to be getting an answer. It's just not realistic to expect a diagnosis of the test typically. We're not pathologists. We don't see the actual cells. – R3

Radiologists acknowledged that patients are often uninformed about why they were getting the test, what they should expect and what the information would lead to:

I feel like they're [patients] probably mostly in the dark. A lot of times they're not really sure why they're getting the exam. They are never aware of what's actually going to be seen on the exam. I would say the whole process is kind of hidden from the patient. I'm sure they would appreciate being more informed on what is going on and why… – R3

A further outcome within the domain of knowledge focussed on how and what to inform patients including communication about test results, next steps in their healthcare, risks of testing and test indications.

I found the more information you give people about what is actually going on, the more receptive they are and relaxed about it. People are really afraid of the unknown, and there's a ton of unknowns in MRI. – T5

While providing clear communication was seen as positive by some providers, others struggled to know how much to share with a patient, and was sometimes moderated by challenges with language, literacy level and cultural differences.

Also, there is a risk of telling people too much. When they don't want to have life-saving procedures because they're freaked out. You don't want to tell them what to do or manipulate them, but there's a line. You can also set expectations. If you tell them, ‘This is going to be unpleasant and cold,’ … Again, you don't want to be dishonest, and you want to be honest, but you also don't want to suggest things that they may not experience. – R6

Patient burden

Radiology providers recognised several burdens related to the imaging process that they considered important outcomes for patients. First, was the time and opportunity costs of having the imaging test, such as time off work, travel times particularly for patients living in rural areas or waiting time to get the test performed. Another outcome was the financial burden and the extent to which insurance would or would not cover the costs of the imaging:

There's all sorts of roadblocks. Especially an outpatient test, because you have to be off that day or get time off from work, go to this outpatient centre, wait in a waiting room. It takes a lot of time. Another obstacle is having insurance. If you don't have insurance, then getting a really expensive test is difficult. You might even have to pay for it yourself.–R7

At times, these burdens were seen as barriers to obtaining needed tests. Burden was moderated by insurance denying coverage, how the patient was informed (communication and education) or the level of importance placed on the patient voice (patient concerns) and how that was addressed. Outcomes in this domain include out-of-pocket money, time (to schedule, take the test, get the results, to get answers to questions or concerns), amount of imaging or effort (due to incidental findings or wrong image taken).

Main findings

Radiologists and radiologic technologists describe multiple different outcomes that they perceive as important for their patients undergoing imaging testing. These included outcomes related to patients’ emotional reactions (eg, reassurance or anxiety), outcomes from the physical effects of testing (eg, discomfort and test side effects), those related to the information gained (eg, to help explain symptoms or to answer patient’s questions) and outcomes related to the burden of the procedure (eg, financial and opportunity costs). These outcomes did not occur in isolation from the care team, but were often strongly influenced or moderated by the radiologist or radiologic technologist. Other factors that could modify the outcomes experienced by patients included patients’ previous experiences, their underlying health status, baseline level of knowledge, their self-efficacy (usually identified as loss of control within the testing environment), expectations of the imaging test (realistic and unrealistic), insurance status and cultural background.

We compared outcomes where possible from perspectives of radiologists and radiologic technologists. Apart from a minority of radiologists (those specialised in breast, interventional or overseeing contrast injections), most had minimal direct ‘face to face’ contact with patients. Most radiologists felt that their primary client was the clinician ordering the test, and not necessarily the patient. In contrast, radiologic technologists acted as the primary point of contact with patients during imaging, serving as the main source of communication between the ordering provider, radiologist and patient. Technologists had tremendous opportunity to address or influence patients’ emotions, knowledge and some physical and patient burdens at point of care. In their interaction with patients, technologists were often able ease fears, comfort patients, meet special needs, listen to patients and set patient expectations. Indeed, a recent study on musculoskeletal imaging found that staff had an overall positive impact on patient experience of testing. 20 A second study confirms the importance of technologists over radiologists and their behaviour in patients’ valuation of excellent care. 21 Technologists’ inability to provide imaging test results (as this is outside their scope of practice), sometimes led to patient frustration and anxiety for those wanting immediate answers.

Comparison with existing literature

Several of the PCOs characterised by this study have been previously identified by the research team during two previous studies, one from the perspectives of patients themselves and one from the perspectives of referring clinicians. Patients identified knowledge gained, contributions to healthcare, experiences during testing and impacts on emotion as patient-centred outcomes of imaging tests. 13 Primary care providers were able to connect the outcome pathways a bit more and reported that the answers provided from imaging tests influenced emotional outcomes and that there is additional burden on the patient from added testing, monetary and physical risks. 18 This evidence of triangulation from the four perspectives strengthens support for the occurrence and potential importance of these outcomes among patients undergoing imaging testing. 13 18 Indeed, previous research has highlighted the importance of psychosocial/emotional outcomes (often described as stress, anxiety or reassurance), 22–24 as well as physical impacts of tests (including comfort/discomfort) 25 and the value of information to patients such as knowledge about the test, awareness of harms, value (or lack of value) of knowing test findings. 13 20 25–27 In contrast, the burden of testing to patients has received less attention, apart from the issue of waiting times and its impact on emotions and life planning, as well as the issue of burden from loss of control that some patients experience. 20 25 Other outcomes that were reported in the literature were not identified from our interviews, such as impact on behavioural or social outcomes. 11 20 22 25 26 It is possible that these additional outcomes might be more prominent in longer-term follow-up to imaging testing and may be important to explore in future studies.

This study provides a novel insight into the awareness that radiology providers have about the outcomes that patients experience when undergoing imaging exams. In particular, we believe this is one of the first studies to include the perspectives of radiologic technologists who provided particular insight based on their key roles within the imaging process. Technologists’ direct contact with patients provides a unique perspective radiologists cannot provide. Past research has been limited to disease or modality specific topics. We believe that covering a variety of imaging specialities and healthcare settings is a strength of this study because it can corroborate past research and has found commonality across modalities/settings.

Limitations

While qualitative research provides a high level of depth on a topic, our findings are limited due to the small sample of providers whose experiences may not be generalisable to other imaging modalities, geographical regions or practice settings. While data saturation was achieved, the sample size was small. A convenience sample of providers was chosen further creating sampling bias. These results should be confirmed in a wider random population of radiology providers. We also do not know the relative importance of outcomes to patients (and providers); these should be evaluated through additional qualitative research and validated through quantitative methods. The researchers also recognise that their thematic analysis may have been influenced by previous research that they have conducted in this area or biassed from their own perspectives.

Implications for research, clinical care, patients

What do our findings mean for the radiology profession? It is clear that the full value of imaging testing involves more than ‘just’ providing an accurate and timely test result. There seem to be a complex array of outcomes related to patients’ emotional, physical factors and patient burden domains that occur during imaging, on top of the perceived and actual value of the information provided by the test. This implies that comparing tests solely based on their comparative accuracy may be insufficient, and risks can both be underestimated or overestimated in the benefit/risk equation of imaging procedures. At present however, these outcomes are not routinely measured or reported in current comparative studies of diagnostic tests nor do we know how to rank or prioritise them within a patient’s overall experience and outcomes. 14 If the field of radiology moves to change direction to become more of a patient-centric speciality, it will be necessary to find tools to measure these outcomes, prioritise (or weight) these outcomes and devise ways to incorporate them within shared decision-making with patients.

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the support and contributions of the PROD Study Team, a body of stakeholders, study site champions and coordinators, and researchers. This study was supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number UL1 TR002319. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

  • Hollingworth W ,
  • Jarvik JG ,
  • Van den Bruel A ,
  • Cleemput I ,
  • Aertgeerts B , et al
  • Mustafa RA ,
  • Wiercioch W ,
  • Ventresca M , et al
  • Fryback DG ,
  • Thornbury JR
  • Ferrante di Ruffano L ,
  • McCaffery KJ , et al
  • Gazelle GS ,
  • Kessler L ,
  • Lee DW , et al
  • Pandharipande PV ,
  • Lijmer JG ,
  • Leeflang M ,
  • Bossuyt PMM
  • Fineberg HV ,
  • Carlos RC ,
  • Buist DSM ,
  • Wernli KJ , et al
  • Bossuyt PMM ,
  • McCaffery K
  • Harris RP ,
  • Sheridan SL ,
  • Lewis CL , et al
  • Zigman Suchsland ML ,
  • Truitt AR , et al
  • Thompson M ,
  • Suchsland MZ , et al
  • Sabbatini AK ,
  • Froemming AT , et al
  • O’Reilly M ,
  • Zhang Y , et al
  • Taylor WJ ,
  • Doyle AJ , et al
  • Rosenkrantz AB ,
  • Pysarenko K
  • van Zwieten MCB ,
  • Bossuyt PMM , et al
  • Slatore CG ,
  • Sullivan DR ,
  • Pappas M , et al
  • Miller LS ,
  • Shelby RA ,
  • Balmadrid MH , et al
  • Agapova M ,
  • Bresnahan BW ,
  • Linnau KF , et al
  • Von Wagner C ,
  • Halligan S , et al
  • Roudenko A ,
  • Ro M , et al

Contributors MZS, research scientist on the project – implemented the study design; collected the data; analysed and interpreted the data; drafted and revised the work; final approval of the version to be published; agreed to be accountable. MJC, research assistant on the project – analysed and interpreted the data; revised the work; final approval of the version to be published; agreed to be accountable. VH, research scientist on the project – analysed and interpreted the data; revised the work; final approval of the version to be published; agreed to be accountable. JJ, key investigator expertise in radiology research – helped design the study; recruited study participant; and interpreted results; substantially revised the work for intellectual content; final approval of the version to be published; agreed to be accountable. GM, patient advocate stakeholder on the PROD study – interpreted results; substantially revised the work for intellectual content; final approval of the version to be published; agreed to be accountable. AB, radiology stakeholder on the PROD study – interpreted results; revised the work for intellectual content; final approval of the version to be published; agreed to be accountable. MT, principal investigator – designed the study, analysed and interpreted the data; substantially revised the work for intellectual content; final approval of the version to be published; agreed to be accountable.

Funding This study was supported through a Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Program Award (ME-1503-29245) to derive new methods to incorporate patient-centered outcomes in studies of diagnostic imaging studies (the Patient-Centered Outcomes for Diagnostics, or PROD study).

Competing interests Dr JJ is a Section Editor and consultant for UpToDate; has received travel reimbursement from the General Electric-Association of University of Radiologists Radiology Research Academic Fellowship (GERRAF) for service on the faculty advisory board; is a Co-Editor of Evidenced-based Neuroradiology published by Springer. Ms MZS, Ms MJC, Ms VH, Dr GM, Dr AB and Dr MT have no conflicts of interest.

Patient consent for publication Not required.

Ethics approval This study was approved by the University of Washington Human Subjects Division.

Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

Data availability statement No data are available. No additional data available.

Read the full text or download the PDF:

U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

  • Publications
  • Account settings

Preview improvements coming to the PMC website in October 2024. Learn More or Try it out now .

  • Advanced Search
  • Journal List
  • PeerJ Comput Sci

Logo of peerjcs

Descriptive analysis of dental X-ray images using various practical methods: A review

Associated data.

The following information was supplied regarding data availability:

This is a Review Article; there are no data or code files.

In dentistry, practitioners interpret various dental X-ray imaging modalities to identify tooth-related problems, abnormalities, or teeth structure changes. Another aspect of dental imaging is that it can be helpful in the field of biometrics. Human dental image analysis is a challenging and time-consuming process due to the unspecified and uneven structures of various teeth, and hence the manual investigation of dental abnormalities is at par excellence. However, automation in the domain of dental image segmentation and examination is essentially the need of the hour in order to ensure error-free diagnosis and better treatment planning. In this article, we have provided a comprehensive survey of dental image segmentation and analysis by investigating more than 130 research works conducted through various dental imaging modalities, such as various modes of X-ray, CT (Computed Tomography), CBCT (Cone Beam Computed Tomography), etc. Overall state-of-the-art research works have been classified into three major categories, i.e ., image processing, machine learning, and deep learning approaches, and their respective advantages and limitations are identified and discussed. The survey presents extensive details of the state-of-the-art methods, including image modalities, pre-processing applied for image enhancement, performance measures, and datasets utilized.

Introduction

Dental X-ray imaging (DXRI) has been developed as the foundation for dental professionals across the world because of the assistance provided in detecting the abnormalities present in the teeth structures ( Oprea et al., 2008 ). For dentists, radiography imparts a significant role in assisting imaging assessment in providing a thorough clinical diagnosis and dental structures preventive examinations ( Molteni, 1993 ). However, to analyze a dental X-ray image, researchers primarily use image processing methods to extract the relevant information. Image segmentation is the most widely used image-processing technique to analyze medical images and help improve computer-aided medical diagnosis systems ( Li et al., 2006 ; Shah et al., 2006 ).

Furthermore, manual examination of a large collection of X-ray images can be time-consuming because visual inspection and tooth structure analysis have an abysmal sensitive rate; therefore, human screening may not identify a high proportion of caries ( Olsen et al., 2009 ). In most cases, the automatic computerized tool that can help the investigation process would be highly beneficial ( Abdi, Kasaei & Mehdizadeh, 2015 ; Jain & Chauhan, 2017 ). Dental image examination involved various stages consisting of image enhancement, segmentation, feature extractions, and identification of regions, which are subsequently valuable for detecting cavities, tooth fractures, cysts or tumors, root canal length, and teeth growth in children ( Kutsch, 2011 ; Purnama et al., 2015 ). Also, various studies revealed that analysis of dental imaging modalities is beneficial in applications like human identification, age estimation, and biometrics ( Nomir & Abdel-Mottaleb, 2007 ; Caruso, Silvestri & Sconfienza, 2013 ).

At present, deep learning (DL) and machine learning (ML) techniques have gained huge momentum in the field of DXRI analysis. Deep learning frameworks, well-known as convolutional neural networks (CNNs), are primarily employed for processing large and complex image datasets because they can obtain multiple features from obfuscated layers ( Schmidhuber, 2015 ; Hwang et al., 2019 ). Many studies that used pre-trained networks like Alexnet, VGG, GoogLeNet, and Inception v3 found that they performed well in general. On the other hand, CNN networks tend to develop from shallow layer networks to broader or problem-specific self-made or complicated networks.

Recently, numerous machine learning approaches have been proposed by researchers to improve dental image segmentation and analysis performance. Deep learning and artificial intelligence techniques are remarkably successful in addressing the challenging segmentation dilemmas presented in various studies ( Hatvani et al., 2018 ; Lee et al., 2018a ; Yang et al., 2018 ; Hwang et al., 2019 ; Khanagar et al., 2021 ), so we can foresee a whirlwind of inventiveness and lines of findings in the coming years, based on achievements that recommend machine learning models concerning semiotic segmentation for DXRI.

In the existing surveys ( Rad et al., 2013 ; Schwendicke et al., 2019 ), various techniques and methods have been discussed for DXRI. In Rad et al. (2013) , segmentation techniques are divided into three classes: pixel‑based, edge‑based, and region‑based, and further classified into thresholding, clustering boundary-based, region-based, or watershed approaches. However, there is no discussion on enhancement techniques, image databases used, and modalities used for DXRI. Furthermore, after the Rad et al. (2013) survey, a large number of approaches have been introduced by researchers. Next, a review of dental image diagnosis using convolution neural network is presented by Schwendicke et al. (2019) , focusing on diagnostic accuracy studies that pitted a CNN against a reference test, primarily on routine imagery data. It has been observed that in the previous surveys, a thorough investigation of traditional image processing, machine learning, and deep learning approaches is missing.

Being an emerging and promising research domain, dental X-ray imaging requires a comprehensive and detailed survey of dental image segmentation and analysis to diagnose and treat various dental diseases. In this study, we have made the following contributions that are missing in the previous surveys: First, we have imparted various studies from 2004 to 2020 covering more than 130 articles and is almost double than previous surveys given by Rad et al. (2013) and Schwendicke et al. (2019) . Second, we have presented X-ray pre-processing techniques, traditional image analysis approaches, machine learning, and deep learning advancements in DXRI. Third, specific image modality (such as periapical, panoramic, bitewing and CBCT, etc.) based methods are categorized. At last, performance metrics and dataset descriptions are investigated up to a great extent. Also, specific benchmarks in the advancement of DXRI methods are represented in Fig. 1 .

An external file that holds a picture, illustration, etc.
Object name is peerj-cs-07-620-g001.jpg

A brief about dental imaging modalities

Dental imaging modalities give insights into teeth growth, bone structures, soft tissues, tooth loss, decay and also helps in root canal treatment (RCT), which is not visible during a dentist’s clinical inspection. Dental imaging modalities are mainly categorized as intra-oral and extra-oral X-rays. In dentistry, these images are frequently used for medical diagnosis ( Abrahams, 2001 ; Caruso, Silvestri & Sconfienza, 2013 ). Various dental imaging modalities categorization based on intra-oral and extra-oral are presented in Fig. 2 .

An external file that holds a picture, illustration, etc.
Object name is peerj-cs-07-620-g002.jpg

Dental radiographs can discover problems in the mouth, jaws, teeth, bone loss, fractures, cysts at an early stage. X-rays can help in finding issues that can not be visualized with an oral assessment. Identifying and diagnosing problems at the earliest stage can save you from root canal treatment and other serious issues.

Types of dental radiography

Intra-oral radiography . An X-ray film is kept in the mouth to capture the X-ray picture, which comprises all the specific details about teeth arrangement, root canal infection, and identifying caries. Categories of intra-oral X-ray images are:

  • Periapical images . It provides information of root and surrounding bone areas containing three to four teeth in the single X-ray image.
  • Bitewing images. It generally helps in detecting the information of upper and lower tooth arrangements, and an X-ray beam shows the dentist how these teeth are arranged with one another and how to spot a cavity between teeth. Bitewing X-rays may also be used to ensure that a crown is fitted correctly (a tooth-enclosing cap) or tooth restoration is done accurately. It can also detect rotting or damaged fillings.
  • Occlusal images. Occlusal X-rays provide insight into the mouth’s base, revealing the upper or lower jaw’s bite. They place a strong emphasis on children’s tooth development and placement.

Extra-oral radiography . An X-ray picture is taken from outside the mouth to capture the entire skull and jaws region. Extra-oral X-rays are classified into many types.

  • Panoramic X-rays. X-rays are full-sized and capture the overall tooth structure. Also, the pictures provide information about the skull and jaw. These images are mainly used to examine fractures, trauma, jaws diseases, pathological lesions and evaluate the impacted teeth.
  • Cephalometric X-rays. Also called ceph X-ray, it depicts the jaw’s whole part, including the head’s entire side. It is employed in both dentistry and medicine for diagnosis and clinical preparation purposes.
  • Sialogram. It uses a substance that is infused into the salivary glands to make them visible on X-ray film. Doctors may recommend this check to ensure problems with the salivary glands, such as infections or Sjogren’s syndrome signs (a symptom condition identified by sore mouth and eyes; this condition may cause tooth decay).
  • Computed tomography (CT) . It is an imaging technique that gives insights into 3-D internal structures. This kind of visualization is used to identify maladies such as cysts, cancers, and fractures in the face’s bones.
  • Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) generates precise and high-quality pictures. Cone beam CT is an X-ray type that generates 3D visions of dental formations, soft tissues, nerves, and bones. It helps in guiding the tooth implants and finding cyst and tumefaction in the mouth. It can also find issues in the gum areas, roots, and jaws structures. Cone beam CT is identical to standard dental CT in several respects.

In this study, various articles considered in which the researchers proposed techniques that are extensively applied to periapical, bitewing, panoramic, CT, CBCT, and photographic color images. Digital X-ray imaging is currently gaining traction as a new research area with expanding applications in various fields.

Challenges faced by doctors in analyzing dental X-ray images

Dental practitioners used X-ray radiographs to examine dental anatomy and to determine the care strategy for the patient. Because of a lack of resources, X-ray interpretations rely more on the doctor’s expertise, and manual examination is complex in dentistry ( Wang et al., 2016 ). Therefore, computer-aided systems are introduced to reduce complexity and make the identification process easy and fast. Computer-aided systems are becoming more powerful and intelligent for identifying abnormalities after processing medical images (such as X-rays, Microscopic images, Ultrasound images, and MRI images). Healthcare decision support systems were developed to provide technical guidance to clinical decision-making experts in the healthcare field ( Mendonça, 2004 ). These systems help identify and treat the earliest symptom of demineralization of tooth caries, root canal, and periodontal diseases.

This paper explores the potential computational methods used for developing computer-aided systems, identifies the challenges faced in their implementation, and provides future directions ( Amer & Aqel, 2015 ; Wang et al., 2016 ). Automatic detection of abnormalities, anomalies, and abrupt changes in teeth structures is a big challenge for researchers. In this study, some of the tooth-related problems are imparted, which is still a challenge for researchers to develop expert systems. We have worked with some of the dental practitioners to understand the common problems. These problems are significantly related to cavities (or caries), root canal treatment (RCT), cysts, teeth implants, and teeth growth. Working in collaboration with dentists helps computer science professionals and researchers to design & develop models that can solve dentist’s problems during examination.

The dental X-ray image analysis methods can be categorized in several categories: region growing techniques, edge detection methods, thresholding based, clustering techniques, level set, and active contour, etc., are presented in ‘Image processing methods for dental image analysis’ ( Mahoor & Abdel-Mottaleb, 2004 ; Zhou & Abdel-Mottaleb, 2005 ; Nomir & Abdel-Mottaleb, 2005 , 2007 ; Gao & Chae, 2008 ; Oprea et al., 2008 ; Patanachai, Covavisaruch & Sinthanayothin, 2010 ; Harandi & Pourghassem, 2011 ; Hu et al., 2014 ; Amer & Aqel, 2015 ; Zak et al., 2017 ; Avuçlu & Bacsçiftçi, 2020 ) ( Rad et al., 2015 ; Tuan, Ngan & Son, 2016 ; Poonsri et al., 2016 ; Son & Tuan, 2016 , 2017 ; Ali et al., 2018 ; Alsmadi, 2018 ; Obuchowicz Rafałand Nurzynska et al., 2018 ; Tuan et al., 2018 ; Fariza et al., 2019 ; Kumar, Bhadauria & Singh, 2020 ).

Conventional machine learning methods considering: back propagation neural network (BPNN), artificial neural network (ANN), support vector machine (SVM), Random forest regression-voting constrained local model (RFRV-CLM), Hybrid learning algorithms are presented in ‘Conventional machine learning algorithms for dental image analysis’ ( Nassar & Ammar, 2007 ; Fernandez & Chang, 2012 ; Pushparaj et al., 2013 ; Prakash, Gowsika & Sathiyapriya, 2015 ; Bo et al., 2017 ; Yilmaz, Kayikcioglu & Kayipmaz, 2017 ; Vila-Blanco, Tomás & Carreira, 2018 ). Also, considering Deep learning architectures, i.e ., Conventional CNN and transfer learning, GoogLeNet Inception v3, AlexNet, Mask R-CNN model, ResNet-101, six-Layer DCNN, U-net architecture, and LightNet and MatConvNet, etc., are highlighted in ‘Deep learning techniques for dental image analysis’ ( Imangaliyev et al., 2016 ; Miki et al., 2017b , 2017a ; Oktay, 2017 ; Prajapati, Nagaraj & Mitra, 2017 ; Rana et al., 2017 ; Srivastava et al., 2017 ; Chu et al., 2018 ; Lee et al., 2018a , 2019 ; Egger et al., 2018 ; Torosdagli et al., 2018 ; Yang et al., 2018 ; Zhang et al., 2018 ; Hatvani et al., 2018 ; Jader et al., 2018 ; Karimian et al., 2018 ; Kim et al., 2019 ; Murata et al., 2019 ; Tuzoff et al., 2019 ; Fukuda et al., 2019 ; Hiraiwa et al., 2019 ; Banar et al., 2020 ; Singh & Sehgal, 2020 ; Geetha, Aprameya & Hinduja, 2020 ).

Contribution

DXRI analysis is an evolving and prospective research field, but still, there is a lack of systematic study available except for one or two studies. In this study, we have made significant contributions as follows:

  • A comprehensive survey consisting of more than 130 articles related to dental imaging techniques for the last 15 years is presented.
  • Overall state-of-the-art research works have been classified into three major categories, i.e ., image processing, machine learning, and deep learning approaches, and their respective advantages and limitations are identified and discussed.
  • A comprehensive review of dental imaging methods provided in terms of various performance metrics.
  • At last, a review of dental X-ray imaging datasets used for implementation and generation.

The rest of the review is structured as follows. The methodology is discussed in ‘Methodology’. Various performance metrics are presented in ‘Performance Measures’. DXRI datasets are given in ‘Dataset Description’. At last, the conclusion is given in ‘Conclusion’.

Methodology

In this survey, 130 research articles from 2004 to 2020 have been reviewed, as shown in Fig. 3 , covering almost all research articles from different online digital libraries like Springer, Elsevier, IEEE, and Google Scholar. These articles are conferences, Book chapters, peer-reviewed and reputed journals in computer science and digital dental imaging. A total number of articles deliberating various imaging modalities: Periapical, Bitewing, Panoramic, Hybrid, CT or CBCT, Photographic color teeth images, and undefined datasets are given in Table 1 . Methods are categorized as image processing techniques in ‘Image processing methods for dental image analysis’, conventional machine learning methods are given in ‘Conventional machine learning algorithms for dental image analysis’, and deep learning approaches are provided in ‘Deep learning techniques for dental image analysis’. Also, methods are characterized based on imaging modalities (Periapical X-rays, Bitewing X-rays, Panoramic X-rays, CBCT or CT images, etc.), and DXRI methods taxonomy is given in Fig. 4 .

An external file that holds a picture, illustration, etc.
Object name is peerj-cs-07-620-g003.jpg

The research incorporated in this comprehensive review primarily focused on medical image processing and artificial intelligence for the detection and examination of the tooth cavity, periodontal disease recognition, tooth arrangement and numbering, root canal detection, periapical lesions detection, salivary gland disease diagnosis, cyst detection, osteoporosis detection, the progress of deciduous teeth, analysis of cephalometric landmarks and fracture identification, etc.

Image processing methods for dental image analysis

The research adopts various image processing strategies for dental imaging to investigate the structures of teeth, caries, and abnormalities to help dental practitioners for the appropriate diagnosis. It involves various pre-processing, segmentation, and classification approaches to make an automatic dental identification system that makes doctor’s work more accessible, unambiguous, and faster. A simple traditional model used for dental image processing is given in Fig. 5 .

An external file that holds a picture, illustration, etc.
Object name is peerj-cs-07-620-g005.jpg

Pre-processing techniques

Dental imaging consists of different image modalities, where X-rays are the most common medical imaging method used to classify bone and hard tissues. In dentistry, imaging modalities help identify fractures, teeth structures, jaws alignment, cyst, and bone loss, which has become tremendously popular in dental imaging ( Goyal, Agrawal & Sohi, 2018 ). Noise level, artifacts, and image contrast are vital values that control an image's overall quality. The image quality obtained depends on varying factors such as the dynamic range of the sensors, the lighting conditions, distortion, and the artifact examined ( Sarage & Jambhorkar, 2012 ). Interpretation of a low-resolution image is often a complex and time-consuming process. Pre-processing techniques enhance the quality of low-resolution images, which corrects the spatial resolution and local adjustment to improve the input image’s overall quality ( Hossain, Alsharif & Yamashita, 2010 ). Moreover, enhancement and filtering methods improve the overall image quality parameters before further processing. In Table 2 , pre-processing techniques are addressed to recuperate the quality of dental images.

Contrast stretching, Grayscale stretching, Log transformation, Gamma correction, Image negative, and Histogram equalization methods are standard enhancement methods to improve the quality of medical images. X-rays are typically grayscale pictures with high noise rates and low resolution. Thus, the image contrast and boundary representation are relatively weak and small ( Ramani, Vanitha & Valarmathy, 2013 ). Extracting features from these X-rays is quite a difficult task with very minimal details and a low-quality image. By adding specific contrast enhancement techniques significantly improves image quality. So that segmentation and extraction of features from such images can be performed more accurately and conveniently ( Kushol et al., 2019 ). Therefore, a contrast stretching approach has been widely used to enhance digital X-rays quality ( Lai & Lin, 2008 ; Vijayakumari et al., 2012 ; Berdouses et al., 2015 ; Purnama et al., 2015 ; Avuçlu & Bacsçiftçi, 2020 ). Adaptive local contrast stretching makes use of local homogeneity to solve the problem of over and under enhancement. One of the prominent methods to refine the contrast of the image is histogram equalization (HE) ( Harandi & Pourghassem, 2011 ; Menon & Rajeshwari, 2016 ; Obuchowicz Rafałand Nurzynska et al., 2018 ; Banday & Mir, 2019 ). HE is the way of extending the dynamic range of an image histogram and it also causes unrealistic impacts in images; however, it is very effective for scientific pictures i.e., satellite images, computed tomography, or X-rays. A downside of the approach is its indiscriminate existence. This can increase ambient noise contrast while reducing the useful quality features of an image.

On the other hand, filtering methods applied to medical images help to eradicate the noise up to some extent. Gaussian, Poisson, and Quantum noise are different types of noise artifacts usually found in X-Rays & CTs, particularly when the image is captured ( Razifar et al., 2005 ; Goyal, Agrawal & Sohi, 2018 ). The noise-free images achieve the efficiency to get the best result and improve the test’s precision. If we try to minimize one class of noise, it may disrupt the other. Various filters have been used to achieve the best potential outcome for the irregularities present in dental images like Average filter, Bilateral filter, Laplacian filter, Homomorphic filter, and Butterworth filter, Median Gaussian filter, and Weiner filter. In recent studies, various filtering techniques used by researchers but widely used filtering methods are Gaussian filter and the median filter, which shows the best result ( Benyó et al., 2009 ; Prajapati, Desai & Modi, 2012 ; Nuansanong, Kiattisin & Leelasantitham, 2014 ; Razali et al., 2014 ; Datta & Chaki, 2015a , b ; Rad et al., 2015 ; Tuan, Ngan & Son, 2016 ; Jain & Chauhan, 2017 ; Alsmadi, 2018 ). However, the drawback of the median filter is that it degrades the boundary details. Whereas the Gaussian filter performs best in peak detection, the limitation is that it reduces the picture’s information.

Dental image segmentation approaches used for different imaging modalities

DXRI segmentation is an essential step to extract valuable information from various imaging modalities. In dentistry, segmentation faces more difficulties than other medical imaging modalities, making the segmentation process more complicated or challenging. Here, the problems faced by researchers in analyzing dental X-ray images and the purpose of segmentation are given in Fig. 6 . The segmentation process refers to the localization of artifacts or the boundary tracing, analysis of structure, etc. Human eyes quickly distinguish objects of interest and remove them from the background tissues, but it is a great challenge in developing algorithms.

An external file that holds a picture, illustration, etc.
Object name is peerj-cs-07-620-g006.jpg

Furthermore, image segmentation has applications distinct from computer vision; it is often used to extract or exclude different portions of an image. General dental image segmentation methods are categorized as thresholding-based, contour or snake models, level set methods, clustering, and region growing ( Rad et al., 2013 ). Moreover, there has been a significant number of surveys presented by various authors ( Rad et al., 2013 ; Sharma, Rana & Kundra, 2015 ). However, none of them categorized the methods based on dental imaging modalities. Various segmentation and classification techniques are discussed and reviewed in this article, considering multiple dental imaging modalities. In the field of dental imaging, the choice of selecting a correct algorithm for the particular image dataset is most important. This study explores image processing techniques explicitly applied for dental imaging modalities, as given in Table 3 .

Bitewing X-rays are widely used by researchers for the application of human identification and biometrics. Human identification is achieved by applying adaptive thresholding, iterative thresholding, and region-growing approaches. Afterwards, image features are extracted to archive and retrieve dental images used for human identification ( Mahoor & Abdel-Mottaleb, 2004 , 2005 ; Nomir & Abdel-Mottaleb, 2005 , 2007 , 2008 ; Zhou & Abdel-Mottaleb, 2005 ). In Huang et al. (2012) , missing tooth locations were detected with an adaptive windowing scheme combined with the isolation curve method, which shows the accuracy rate higher than ( Nomir & Abdel-Mottaleb, 2005 ). In Pushparaj, Gurunathan & Arumugam (2013) , primarily aimed at estimating the shape of the entire tooth. In which segmentation is performed by applying horizontal and vertical integral projection. In addition, teeth boundary was estimated using the fast connected component labeling algorithm, and lastly, Mahalanobis distance is measured for the matching.

Periapical X-rays help in clinical diagnosis considering dental caries and root canal regions by applying various image processing techniques ( Oprea et al., 2008 ). Many times dentists use periapical X-ray images to spot caries lesions from dental X-rays. Regardless of human brain vision, it is often hard to correctly identify caries by manually examining the X-ray image. Caries detection methods for periapical X-rays have been used iteratively to isolate the initially suspected areas. Then, separated regions are subsequently analyzed. In Rad et al. (2015) , automatic caries was identified by applying segmentation using k-means clustering and feature detection using GLCM. However, it shows image quality issues in some cases, and because of these issues, tooth detection may give a false result. On the other hand, ( Singh & Agarwal, 2018 ) applied color masking techniques to mark the curios lesions to find the percentage value of the affected area.

Another approach is given by ( Osterloh & Viriri, 2019 ) mainly focused on upper and lower jaws separation with the help of thresholding and integral projection, and the learning model is employed to extract caries. This model shows better accuracy than ( Dykstra, 2008 ; Tracy et al., 2011 ; Valizadeh et al., 2015 ). In Obuchowicz Rafałand Nurzynska et al. (2018) , k-means clustering (CLU) and first-order features (FOF) were used to show the best performance for the identification of caries. However, this approach was applied to the dataset of 10 patients with confirmed caries. A geodesic contour technique ( Datta, Chaki & Modak, 2019 ) shows better computational time results than multilevel thresholding, watershed, and level set. The limitation of this approach is that it does not work well for poor-quality pictures, which leads to inappropriate feature extraction. In Datta, Chaki & Modak (2020) , a method reduced the computational efforts and caries region identified in optimum time. The X-ray image is processed in the neutrosophic domain to identify the suspicious part, and an active contour method is employed to detect the outer line of the carious part. The benefit of this method is that it prevents recursive iterations using neutrosophication during suspicious area detection.

The semi-automatic method for root canal length detection is proposed by Harandi & Pourghassem (2011) and Purnama et al. (2015) to help dental practitioners properly treat root canal treatment (RCT). In some studies, periapical X-rays are also used for the automatic segmentation of cysts or abscesses. Devi, Banumathi & Ulaganathan (2019) proposed a fully automated hybrid method that combined feature-base isophote curvature and model-based fast marching (FMM). It shows good accuracy and optimum results as compared to Jain & Chauhan (2017) . Furthermore, various approaches were used to automatically detect teeth structures ( Huang & Hsu, 2008 ; Sattar & Karray, 2012 ; Niroshika, Meegama & Fernando, 2013 ; Nuansanong, Kiattisin & Leelasantitham, 2014 ; Kumar, Bhadauria & Singh, 2020 ).

Panoramic X-rays help identify jaw fractures, the structure of jaws, and deciduous teeth. These X-rays are less detailed as compared to periapical and bitewing. It has been observed that the segmentation of panoramic X-rays using wavelet transformation shows better results than adaptive and iterative thresholding ( Patanachai, Covavisaruch & Sinthanayothin, 2010 ). Another fully automatic segmentation of the teeth using the template matching technique introduced by Poonsri et al. (2016) shows 50% matching accuracy results. In Razali et al. (2014) analyzed X-rays for the age estimations by comparing edge detection approaches. Amer & Aqel (2015) have suggested a method used to extract wisdom teeth using the Otsu’s threshold combined with morphological dilation. Then, jaws and teeth regions are extracted using connected component labeling.

In Mahdi & Kobashi (2018) , it sets a multi-threshold by applying quantum particle swarm optimization to improve the accuracy. Fariza et al. (2019) employed a method to extract dentin, enamel, pulp, and other surrounding dental structures using conditional spatial fuzzy C-means clustering. Subsequently, the performance improved as compared to inherently used FCM approaches. Dibeh, Hilal & Charara (2018) separates maxillary and mandibular jaws using N-degree polynomial regression. In Abdi, Kasaei & Mehdizadeh (2015) , a four-step method is proposed: gap valley extraction, modified canny edge detector, guided iterative contour tracing, and template matching. However, estimating the overall performance of automated segmentation with individual results, all of which were estimated to be above 98%, clearly demonstrates that the computerized process can still be improved to meet the gold standard more precisely.

In Veena Divya, Jatti & Revan Joshi (2016) , active contour-based segmentation is proposed for cystic lesion segmentation and extraction to analyze cyst development behavior. The segmentation method has positive results for nonlinear background, poor contrast, and noisy image. Divya et al. (2019) has compared the level set method and watershed segmentation to detect cysts and lesions. The study reveals that the level set segmentation produces more predicted results for cyst/Lesion. An approach used to identify age & gender by analyzing dental images is very useful in biometrics ( Avuçlu & Bacsçiftçi, 2020 ). Several other image processing techniques are used on dental images to achieve the best biometric results.

Hybrid-dataset is the image dataset combining different dental imaging modalities used for the analysis. Said et al. (2006) have used periapical & bitewing X-rays for the teeth segmentation. In this approach, the background area is discarded using an appropriate threshold, then mathematical morphology and connected component labeling are applied for the teeth extraction. This approach finds difficulty in extracting images having low contrast between teeth and bones, blurred images, etc. Another approach introduced by Tuan, Ngan & Son (2016) , Son & Tuan (2017) , Tuan et al. (2018) the semi-supervised fuzzy clustering method with some modification to find the various teeth and bone structures. Ali, Ejbali & Zaied (2015) compared CPU & GPU results after applying the Chan-Vese model with active contour without edge. It shows that GPU model implementation is several times faster than the CPU version.

Photographic color images are the RGB images of occlusal surfaces that are mainly useful for detecting caries and human identification ( Datta & Chaki, 2015a , 2015b ). Teeth segmentation is performed by integrating watershed and snake-based techniques on dental RGB images. Subsequently, incisors tooth features extracted for the recognition of a person. This method can segment individual teeth, lesions from caries and track the development of lesion size. This research’s primary objective is to identify the caries lesions of the tooth surfaces, which benefits to improve the diagnosis. In Ghaedi et al. (2014) , caries segmentation was employed using the region-widening method and circular hough transform (CHT), then morphological operations applied to locate the unstable regions around the tooth boundaries. Another fully automatic approach for the caries classification is given by Berdouses et al. (2015) , where segmentation separates caries lesion then after area features are extracted to assign the region to a particular class. It can be a valuable method to support the dentist in making more reliable and accurate detection and analysis of occlusal caries.

CT & CBCT Images provide 3D visualization of teeth and assist dental practitioners in orthodontic surgery, dental implants, and cosmetic surgeries. Hosntalab et al. (2010) recommended a multi-step procedure for labeling and classification in CT images. However, teeth segmentation is performed by employing global thresholding, morphological operations, region growing, and variational level sets. Another approach, a multi-step procedure, was introduced by Mortaheb, Rezaeian & Soltanian-Zadeh (2013) based on the mean shift algorithm for CT image segmentation of the tooth area, which results best as compare with watershed, thresholding, active contour. Another technique that does not depend on mean shift is suggested by Gao & Li (2013) , which uses an iterative scheme to label events for the segmentation. Furthermore, segmentation methods are improved by applying active contour tracking algorithms and level set methods ( Gao & Chae, 2010 ). It shows higher accuracy and visualization of tooth regions as compared to other methods.

Conventional machine learning algorithms for dental image analysis

Development in the field of Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) is growing over the last few years. ML and AI methods have made a meaningful contribution to the field of dental imaging, such as computer-aided diagnosis & treatment, X-ray image interpretation, image-guided treatment, infected area detection, and information representation adequately and efficiently. The ML and AI make it easier and help doctors diagnose and presume disease risk accurately and more quickly in time. Conventional machine learning algorithms for image perception rely exclusively on expertly designed features, i.e ., identifying dental caries involves extracting texture features—an overview of various machine learning algorithms is given in Fig. 7 .

An external file that holds a picture, illustration, etc.
Object name is peerj-cs-07-620-g007.jpg

ML datasets are generally composed of exclusive training, validation, and test sets. It determines system characteristics by evaluating and testing the dataset then validates the features acquired from the input data. Using the test dataset, one might finally verify ML’s precision and extract valuable features to formulate a powerful training model. Table 4 reveals the conventional machine-learning algorithms used for dental X-ray imaging.

Deep learning techniques for dental image analysis

Artificial intelligence, machine learning, and deep learning approaches assist medical imaging technicians in spotting abnormalities and diagnosing disorders in a fraction of the time required earlier (and with more accurate tests generally). Deep learning (DL) is an improvement of artificial neural networks (ANN), which has more layers and allows for more accurate data predictions ( LeCun, Bengio & Hinton, 2015 ; Schmidhuber, 2015 ). Deep learning is associated with developing self-learning back-propagation techniques that incrementally optimize data outcomes and increase computing power. Deep learning is a rapidly developing field with numerous applications in the healthcare sector. The number of available, high-quality datasets in ML and DL applications plays a significant role in evaluating the outcome accuracy. Also, information fusion assists in integrating multiple datasets and their use of DL models to enhance accuracy parameters. The predictive performance of deep learning algorithms in the medical imaging field exceeds human skill levels, transforming the role of computer-assisted diagnosis into a more interactive one ( Burt et al., 2018 ; Park & Park, 2018 ).

Health diagnostic computer-aided software is used in the medical field as a secondary tool, but developing traditional CAD systems tend to be very strenuous. Recently, there have been introducing deep learning approaches to CAD, with accurate outcomes for different clinical applications ( Cheng et al., 2016 ). The research study mostly used a convolution neural network model to analyze other dental imaging modalities. CNN’s are a typical form of deep neural network feed-forward architectures, and they are usually used for computer vision and image object identification tasks. CNN's were initially released about two decades back; however, in 2012, AlexNet’s architecture outpaced added ImageNet large-scale competition challenges ( Krizhevsky, Sutskever & Hinton, 2012 ). Machine vision came in as the deep learning revolution, and since then, CNNs have been rapidly evolving. Feature learning methods have taken a massive turn since the CNN model has come into the picture. Fully convolution neural network Alexnet architecture is used to categorize teeth, including molar, premolar, canine, and incisor, by training cone-beam CT images ( Miki et al., 2017a ; Oktay, 2017 ). Tuzoff et al. (2019) applied the Faster R-CNN model, which interprets pipeline and optimizes computation to detect the tooth ( Ren et al., 2017 ) and VGG-16 convolutional architecture for classification ( Simonyan & Zisserman, 2014 ). These methods are beneficial in practical applications and further investigation of computerized dental X-ray image analysis.

In DXRI, CNNs have been extensively used to detect tooth fractures, bone loss, caries detection, periapical lesions, or also used for the analysis of different dental structures ( Lee et al., 2018b ; Schwendicke et al., 2019 ). Neural networks need to be equipped and refined, and X-ray dataset repositories are necessary ( Lee et al., 2018a ). In Lee et al. (2019) , the mask R-CNN model is applied based on a CNN that can identify, classify, and mask artifacts in an image. A mask R-CNN mask operated in two steps. In the first step, the Region of interest (ROIs) selection procedure was performed. Next, the R-CNN mask includes a binary mask similarity to the classification and bounding box foresight for each ROI ( Romera-Paredes & Torr, 2016 ; He et al., 2017 ).

Dental structures (enamel, dentin, and pulp) identified using U-net architecture show the best outcome ( Ronneberger, Fischer & Brox, 2015 ). CNN is a standard technique for multi-class identification and characterization, but it requires extensive training to achieve a successful result if used explicitly. In the medical sphere, the lack of public data is a general problem because of privacy. To address this issue, ( Zhang et al., 2018 ) suggested a technique that uses a label tree to assign multiple labels to each tooth and decompose a task that can manage data shortages. Table 5 presents various studies considering deep learning-based techniques in the field of dentistry.

Challenges and future directions

After reviewing various works focusing on traditional image processing techniques, it has been perceived that researchers faced multiple challenges in the field of DXRI segmentation and analysis, such as intensity variation in the X-ray images, poor image quality due to noise, irregular shape of an object, limitations of capturing devices, proper selection of methodology and lack of availability of datasets. Also, experience severe challenges in automatically detecting abnormalities, root canal infection, and sudden changes in the oral cavity. Since there are different varieties of dental X-ray images, it is hard to find a particular segmentation approach; it all depends on the precise condition of the X-rays. Some articles have used pre-processed digital X-rays that were manually cropped to include the area of interest. Because of inconsistencies in the manual method, it is hard to accurately interpret and compare outcomes ( Lee, Park & Kim, 2017 ).

Moreover, convolutional neural networks (and their derivatives) are performing outstandingly in dental X-ray image analysis. One notable conclusion is that many researchers use almost the same architectures, the same kind of network, but have very different outcomes. Deep neural networks are most successful when dealing with a large training dataset, but large datasets are not publically available in the DXRI and are not annotated. If vast publicly accessible dental X-ray image datasets were constructed, our research community would undoubtedly benefit exceedingly.

For the future perspective, the dental X-ray image public repository needs to be developed, and data uniformity is required for deep learning applications in dentistry. Also, DXRI aims to create a classifier that can classify multiple anomalies, caries classes, types of jaw lesions, cyst, root canal infection, etc., in dental images using features derived from the segmentation results. There is also a need to build machine learning-based investigative methods and rigorously validate them with a large number of dental professionals. The participation of specialists in this process will increase the likelihood of growth and development. Currently, there exists no universally acceptable software or tool for dental image analysis. However, such a tool is essentially needed to improve the performance of CAD systems and better treatment planning.

Performance measures

In general, if the algorithm’s efficiency is more significant than other algorithms, one algorithm is prioritized over another. Evaluating the effectiveness of a methodology requires the use of a universally accessible and valid measure. Various performance metrics have been used to compare algorithms or machine learning approaches depending on the domain or study area. It comprises accuracy, Jaccard index, sensitivity, precision, recall, DSC, F-measure, AUC, MSE, error rate, etc. Here, we include a thorough analysis of the success metrics employed in dental image analysis.

Performance metrics used for dental image processing

Calculating performance metrics used for dental segmentation is performed by authenticating pixel by pixel and analyzing the segmentation results with the gold standard. Manual annotation of X-ray images done by a radiologist is considered to be the gold standard. Pixel-based metrics are measured using precision, dice coefficient, accuracy, specificity, and F-score widely used in segmentation analysis. Some of the problems in analyzing image segmentation are metric selection, the use of multiple meanings for some metrics in the literature, and inefficient metric measurement implementations that lead to significant large volume dataset difficulties. Poorly described metrics can result in imprecision conclusions on state-of-the-art algorithms, which affects the system’s overall growth. Table 6 presents an overview of performance metrics widely used by researchers for dental image segmentation and analysis.

The significance of accuracy and assurance is essential in the medical imaging field. Also, the validation of segmentation achieves the result and dramatically increases the precision, accuracy, conviction, and computational speed of segmentation. Segmentation methods are especially helpful in computer-aided medical diagnostic applications where the interpretation of objects that are hard to differentiate by human vision is a significant component.

Confusion matrix

The confusion matrix is used to estimate the performance of medical image segmentation and classification. The confusion matrix helps identify the relationship between the outcomes of the predictive algorithm and the actual ones. Some of the terms used for the confusion matrix are given in Table 7 : True positive (TP): correctly identified or detected; False positive (FP): evaluated or observed incorrectly; False negative (FN): wrongly rejected; True Negative (TN): correctly rejected. In the approach ( Mahoor & Abdel-Mottaleb, 2005 ), experimental outcomes proved that molar classification is relatively easy compared to premolars, and for teeth classification, centroid distance is less effective than a coordinate signature. Various metrics such as the signature vector, force field (FF), and Fourier descriptor (FD) were used to test the efficiency of the approach given by Nomir & Abdel-Mottaleb (2007) , and for matching euclidean distance and absolute distance, FF & FD give small values, suggesting that they performed better than the others. Here, FF & FD give small values for matching Euclidean distance and absolute distance, indicating that the performance is better than the other two methods. In another approach ( Prajapati, Desai & Modi, 2012 ), feature vectors are evaluated and used to find the image distance vector ( D n ) using formula: D n = ∑ | T n F V − F V Q | , where feature vector (TnFV) is used for database image and (FVQ) is used for the query image. The minimum value of the distance vector indicates the best match of the image with the database image.

The study ( Huang et al., 2012 ) shows better isolation precision accuracy for the segmentation of jaws as compared with Nomir and Abdel–Mottaleb. Another method evaluated the complete length of the tooth and capered with the dentist's manual estimation ( Harandi & Pourghassem, 2011 ). Here, measurement error (ME) is evaluated for root canals applying the formula: M E = M e s u r e d l e n g t h A c t u a l l e n g t h and evaluated ME is lowest for one canal compared to two and three canals.

Niroshika, Meegama & Fernando (2013) traced the tooth boundaries using active contour and distance parameters are compared with the Kass algorithm. The value of the standard distance parameter was found to be lower than that of the Kass algorithm, implying that the proposed method is more efficient for tracing the tooth boundary than the Kass algorithm. Another approach used for counting molar and premolar teeth is considering precision and sensitivity ( Pushparaj et al., 2013 ). Here performance is using metric ′ η ′ is given by: η = ( m − n ) n ∗ 100 . Where ‘m’ represents the total number of teeth counted, and ‘n’ represents the incorrectly numbered teeth. The counting of molar and premolar teeth is more than 90% accurate using this method.

In Abdi, Kasaei & Mehdizadeh (2015) , mandible segmentation and Hausdorff distance parameters were compared to the manually annotated gold standard. The algorithm results appear to be very close to the manually segmented gold standard in terms of sensitivity, accuracy, and dice similarity coefficient (DSC). In Amer & Aqel (2015) , a wisdom tooth is extracted, and the mean absolute error (MAE) is used to equate the procedure with the other two methods. As compared to other approaches, the lower MAE value showed better segmentation.

In Poonsri et al. (2016) , precision is calculated for single-rooted and double-rooted teeth using template matching. According to their study, segmentation accuracy is greater than 40%. Son & Tuan (2016 , 2017) used the following cluster validity metrics: PBM, Simplified Silhouette Width Criterion (SSWC), Davis-Bouldin (DB), BH, VCR, BR, and TRA, and the measures of these parameters indicate the best performance as compared with the results of current algorithms.

PBM: The maximum value of this index is said to be the PBM index, across the hierarchy provides the best partitioning.

Simplified Silhouette Width Criterion ( SSWC): The silhouette analysis tests how well the observation is clustered and calculates the average distance between clusters. The silhouette plot shows how similar each point in a cluster is to the neighboring clusters’ points.

Davies-Bouldin index ( DB): This index determines the average ‘similarity’ amongst clusters, in which the resemblance is a metric that measures the distance between clusters with the size of clusters themselves. The lower Davies-Bouldin index refers to a model with a greater detachment of clusters.

Ball and Hall index (BH): It is used to determine the distance within a group, with a higher value showing better results.

Calinski-Harabasz index , also called Variance Ratio Criterion (VCR): It can be applied to evaluate the partition data by variance, and its higher value indicates good results.

Banfeld-Raftery index (BR): It is evaluated using a variance-covariance matrix for each cluster.

Difference-like index (TRA): It calculates the cluster difference, and a higher value gives the best results.

Comparison of various performance metrics used in dental X-ray imaging considering deep learning methods are given in Fig. 8 .

An external file that holds a picture, illustration, etc.
Object name is peerj-cs-07-620-g008.jpg

Dataset description

The researcher in the dental imaging field has used various types of databases. In which some of the databases are available online, while some records are not present. The most prominent dilemma is finding out which investigation has given valid results because everyone has shown promising results on their datasets. All the dental imaging databases that have been used so far are given in Table 8 .

Dental X-ray image analysis is a challenging area, and it receives significantly less attention from the community of researchers. There is, however, no systematic review that addresses the state-of-the-art approaches of DXRI. This paper has performed a thorough analysis of more than 130 techniques suggested by different researchers over the last few decades. This study presented a survey of various segmentation and classification techniques widely used for dental X-ray imaging. Methods are characterized as image processing, conventional machine learning, and deep learning. Furthermore, a novel taxonomy mainly focusing on the imaging modalities-based categorization such as bitewing, periapical, panoramic, CBCT/CT, hybrid datasets, and color pictures. Various studies have found that opting for one type of segmentation technique is very difficult in conventional image-processing methods because of image dataset variability. The primary barrier in the growth of a high-performance classification model is the requirement of an annotated datasets, as pointed by various researchers mentioned in this study. Dental X-ray imaging data is not the same as other medical images because of the different image characteristics. This difference has an impact on the deep learning model’s adaptability during image classification. It is also challenging to validate and verify the algorithm’s correctness because of the inadequate datasets available for the hypothesis.

Now we would like to bring the researcher’s attention towards future directions in DXRI. Since most dental X-ray image analysis methods result in decreased efficiency, more sophisticated segmentation techniques should be designed to improve clinical treatment. Further, it is being observed that limited work is employed in the recent studies to detect caries classes such as classes I–VI, and root canal infection. Researchers should therefore focus on implementing new methodologies for caries classification and detection. Recently, deep learning has improved DXRI segmentation and classification performance and requires large annotated image datasets for training, but large annotated X-ray datasets are not publicly accessible. Further, a public repository for dental X-ray images needs to be developed. It is still an open problem so that we can expect new findings and research outcomes in the coming years.

Funding Statement

The authors received no funding for this work.

Additional Information and Declarations

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Anuj Kumar conceived and designed the experiments, performed the experiments, analyzed the data, performed the computation work, prepared figures and/or tables, authored or reviewed drafts of the paper, and approved the final draft.

Harvendra Singh Bhadauria conceived and designed the experiments, performed the experiments, analyzed the data, performed the computation work, prepared figures and/or tables, authored or reviewed drafts of the paper, and approved the final draft.

Annapurna Singh conceived and designed the experiments, performed the experiments, analyzed the data, performed the computation work, prepared figures and/or tables, authored or reviewed drafts of the paper, and approved the final draft.

Technology assessment in diagnostic imaging. A proposal for a phased approach to evaluating radiology research

Affiliation.

  • 1 Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510.
  • PMID: 8444573
  • DOI: 10.1097/00004424-199302000-00015

Rationale and objectives: The authors propose an objective basis for critical evaluation of research trends and define and analyze a sample of radiology studies according to research phase.

Methods: A random sample of 146 original diagnostic studies from two radiology journals was categorized according to phase, modality, and design by three physician reviewers, collated with a microcomputer database, and analyzed using an SAS program.

Results: Phase 1 studies (technical evaluation) constituted 18.5% of publications: phase 2 (standardization and tissue characterization), 10.3%; phase 3 (spectrum of appearances), 40.4%; phase 4 (diagnostic efficacy), 21.2%; and phase 5 (clinical evaluation), 9.6%. Of 48 diagnostic efficacy studies, 42% were prospective (versus 35% for the total sample), 38% were controlled (median sample size, 53 [versus 30 for the total sample]). Only 27% of the 48 diagnostic efficacy studies were externally funded. Research in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which comprised 45% of all publications, was oriented toward phase 1 (32%) rather than phase 5 studies (0%). Phase 5 studies were the focus of 18% and 8% of ultrasound (US) and computed tomography (CT) studies, respectively. There were more prospective, controlled efficacy studies in US than in MRI or CT.

Conclusions: Analyses of research trends will be facilitated by use of a standard taxonomy which adopts a modality-based, phased approach.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.
  • Diagnostic Imaging / trends*
  • Research Design
  • Technology Assessment, Biomedical*
  • Technology, Radiologic / trends
  • United States

Grants and funding

  • 1K08AG00524-01/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States

IMAGES

  1. 2024 Research Proposal Sample

    research proposal example in radiography

  2. A brief introduction to X ray Computed Tomography

    research proposal example in radiography

  3. 9 Free Research Proposal Templates (with Examples)

    research proposal example in radiography

  4. Research Proposal Example In Radiography

    research proposal example in radiography

  5. Research Proposal Example In Radiography

    research proposal example in radiography

  6. How To Write A Research Proposal In Chemistry

    research proposal example in radiography

VIDEO

  1. Proposal 101: What Is A Research Topic?

  2. How I approach radiological cases

  3. Sample of Research Proposal / MESP001 / Hand written

  4. How to Write a Research Proposal & Student Writing Tips

  5. Research Proposal : How to Write a Research proposal?

  6. Tips to make your Research Proposal unique

COMMENTS

  1. 400+ Radiology Thesis Topics for Research [Updated 2022]

    Introduction. A thesis or dissertation, as some people would like to call it, is an integral part of the Radiology curriculum, be it MD, DNB, or DMRD. We have tried to aggregate radiology thesis topics from various sources for reference. Not everyone is interested in research, and writing a Radiology thesis can be daunting.

  2. How to Write an Original Radiological Research Manuscript

    How to start? The first step with any manuscript is to articulate your "purpose" of the study. The purpose of your study should be captured in a single sentence, and should be included at the beginning of the Abstract and at the end of the Introduction.Also, reiterate the purpose of your manuscript in the first paragraph of the Discussion.Without a well-defined purpose, the remainder of ...

  3. How to Write a Research Proposal

    Research proposal examples. Writing a research proposal can be quite challenging, but a good starting point could be to look at some examples. We've included a few for you below. Example research proposal #1: "A Conceptual Framework for Scheduling Constraint Management" Example research proposal #2: "Medical Students as Mediators of ...

  4. Getting started in radiology research

    Radiology research is a difficult endeavor, and success is determined by many factors along the entire process from research planning to article writing. Two of the most important characteristics of successful clinical research are a good research question and an appropriate study population. If these do not exist from the start, the subsequent research activity is unlikely to conclude with ...

  5. PDF Diagnostic and therapeutic radiography MSc dissertations

    •Initial design and production of a short proposal (within first two months approx.) •Research studies (for these two examples); design, permissions, data collection, analysis, write-up of full dissertation (within 8-10 months) •Two students' examples presented here…..

  6. Concepts for exploring research avenues in radiology: opportunities and

    For example, trying to export radiologic techniques from one anatomic region to another is also an interesting topic currently used to generate innovative ideas for research in radiology. For example, well-tested and proven techniques such as diffusion-weighted imaging, which was primarily developed for central nervous system imaging, have been ...

  7. (PDF) Research in Radiography

    160+ million publication pages. 2.3+ billion citations. Content uploaded by. PDF | Basic principles to conduct a research based on Radiography | Find, read and cite all the research you need on ...

  8. PDF Developing Practice in Radiography and Diagnostic Imaging Richard

    The research has documented developments taking place at a time of enormous technological innovation. It provides key data on the changing practice of radiography that will be useful to all stakeholders planning improvements to radiography services. The data lead to a re-definition of practice and recommendations for supporting

  9. Research Proposal on Radiography

    Radiography Research Proposal Sample: Radiography is the research of the inner side of the objects, which is projected on the special paper with the help of X-rays. The history of the method of radiography began already in the end of the 19th century, when Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen discovered the effect of the X-rays.

  10. Qualitative methods in radiography research: A proposed framework

    Purpose: This paper briefly introduces a number of key qualitative methods (qual-. itative interviews, focus groups, observational methods, diary met hods and document/. text analysis) and ...

  11. Navigating the maze: Qualitative research methodologies and their

    justifies the predominance of objective measures of matters such as dose optimisation and image quality. A review of papers published in Radiography from 2017 to 2019 indicates that the majority of published radiography research utilised quantitative methods. On closer inspection however, the published studies can be seen to reflect a broad spectrum of research undertakings; examples include ...

  12. (PDF) Radiography Students' Perceptions and Experiences of their

    The aim of this study was, therefore, to systematically review the evidence relating to radiography students' perceptions and experiences of their placements. In achieving this, a qualitative ...

  13. Evidence based practice, research and the diagnostic ...

    The anticipated and proposed survey sample size was 140, however due to leavers and long-term absence, the final eligible population was 118. The response rate was 65.3% (77/118). ... This is the first identified UK-based in-depth exploration of radiography research culture, and despite this being a single centre study, these findings could ...

  14. Trends in radiology and experimental research

    Three general trends and seven radiology-specific trends will be outlined. Both general and specific trends interplay and many overlap. A graphical representation is given in Fig. 1, including relevant effects of the various trends. Then, different meanings of the word experimental and the structure and role of the new journal will be described.

  15. Examples of Research proposals

    Identify the importance of your research; Show why you are the right person to do this research; Examples of research proposals. Research Proposal Example 1 (DOC, 49kB) Research Proposal Example 2 (DOC, 0.9MB) Research Proposal Example 3 (DOC, 55.5kB) Research Proposal Example 4 (DOC, 49.5kB) Subject specific guidance. Writing a Humanities PhD ...

  16. Radiology Research Paper Topics

    This page aims to provide students studying health sciences with a comprehensive collection of radiology research paper topics to inspire and guide their research endeavors. By delving into various categories and exploring ten thought-provoking topics within each, students can gain insights into the diverse research possibilities in radiology.

  17. Radiography Research: How could you make a difference?

    This grant is for research proposals that focus on radiography and artificial intelligence. Also open to individuals or small groups, the grant can award up to £5,000 for small projects or up to £10,000 for one large project. If you are interested in applying, please read the SoR document Artificial Intelligence: Guidance for Clinical Imaging ...

  18. 17 Research Proposal Examples (2024)

    Research Proposal Examples. Research proposals often extend anywhere between 2,000 and 15,000 words in length. The following snippets are samples designed to briefly demonstrate what might be discussed in each section. 1. Education Studies Research Proposals.

  19. Research proposal ideas : r/Radiology

    Research proposal ideas. I'm currently in my 3rd year of a radiography degree and we are required to submit a research proposal on any aspect that relates to radiography (imaging modalities, patient care within departments, recruitment methods etc). I'm having trouble finding an area that really interests me and was wondering if there's any ...

  20. Qualitative study to explore radiologist and radiologic technologist

    Objective We aimed to explore the patient-centred outcomes (PCOs) radiologists and radiologic technologists perceive to be important to patients undergoing imaging procedures. Design We conducted a qualitative study of individual semi-structured interviews. Participants We recruited multiple types of radiologists including general, musculoskeletal neuroradiology, body and breast imagers as ...

  21. Descriptive analysis of dental X-ray images using various practical

    Introduction. Dental X-ray imaging (DXRI) has been developed as the foundation for dental professionals across the world because of the assistance provided in detecting the abnormalities present in the teeth structures (Oprea et al., 2008).For dentists, radiography imparts a significant role in assisting imaging assessment in providing a thorough clinical diagnosis and dental structures ...

  22. Technology assessment in diagnostic imaging. A proposal for a phased

    Rationale and objectives: The authors propose an objective basis for critical evaluation of research trends and define and analyze a sample of radiology studies according to research phase. Methods: A random sample of 146 original diagnostic studies from two radiology journals was categorized according to phase, modality, and design by three physician reviewers, collated with a microcomputer ...

  23. Writing for reflection: Radiography students' experiences with

    Reflective journaling is a widely recognised method of engaging in reflective practice, whereby individuals document their critical analysis of past experiences or actions, focusing on the implications and lessons learned for future application. In radiography and other healthcare professions, reflective practice is considered essential for professional development and should be cultivated ...