Another result of the technical support present study was that the gray levels of each step of the Al wedge differed significantly from each other for all scan delays and cases. This result shows that protective cases provide proper protection of the whole plate surface from the effect of light, and protection provided by the original cases was better than that provided by the other black and white cases.In the present study, plates were neither in a light box nor in a dark drawer, in order to prevent any external light energy from affecting the trapped electrons. Although those procedures were followed in previous studies on the effect of delay in scanning time on PSP image quality [22], they were not followed in the present study because they are not always carried out in clinical practice, and the preferred aim was to achieve accurate simulation to evaluate the effects of delay in scanning time.

This study was conducted to see whether delay in scanning and the use of different cases would result in loss of image quality in clinical practice.In the current study, better image quality was obtained in D��rr Dental plates enclosed in their original cases before exposure. It was demonstrated that original cases perform better in protecting plates from light for up to 8h and should therefore be preferred when D��rr Dental plates are used. However, when Digora plates were exposed to light, the effect did not depend on the type of case used. In addition, when the plates were exposed to light, a reduction in image quality was seen up to 5 and 10 minutes after exposure for the D��rr Dental and Digora Optime PSPs, respectively.

Spinal fusion has been used extensively in the thoracolumbar GSK-3 spine for tumors, spinal instability, deformity, and stenosis. Recent developments and advancements in minimally invasive spine surgery have created new technologies that can help avoid the morbidity of traditional open anterior or posterior surgery. Anterior surgery has been associated with complications with its approach, which include vascular complications, retrograde ejaculation, postoperative colonic obstruction, lymphocele, or injury to the sympathetic chain [1�C3]. Posterior surgery, for example, posterolateral fusions, posterior lumbar interbody fusions, and transforaminal lumbar interbody fusions, have been associated with paraspinal muscle denervation, dural tears, and neural complications, such as radiculitis from malpositioned screws or retraction during the surgery to allow placement of the intervertebral cage [4�C7]. As an alternative to anterior and posterior surgery, lateral interbody fusion was described by Pimenta in 2001 as a minimally invasive procedure for the management of lumbar spine disease [8]. Lateral interbody fusion (XLIF: NuVasive, Inc.