Linearity of cephalometric digitizers.

The present study aimed to develop a test procedure to diagnose and visualize errors in linearity of digitizing tablets. Errors of linearity are caused by the distortion of the x- and y-co-ordinates of the digitizing tablet. This results in a given object apparently having different dimensions when recorded on different locations of the digitizing surface. The test is performed by systematic recording of n equally spaced points from a calibrated test foil. Algorithms were developed to calculate the difference matrices DXji and DYji between expected and observed values of the co-ordinates. Three-dimensional mapping of the non-linearity of the x- and y-co-ordinates was performed by the UNIRAS-geopak, a 3-D surface representative system. The tested digitizers showed varying degrees of scaling errors, fields of non-linearity, and random noise. Most digitizers allow for correction of scaling by setting of switches in the control unit. A method is suggested for correction of non-linearities by use of the DXji and DYji matrices in the digitizing programme.