[Cone beam computed tomography and its clinical applications].

The rapid progress in imaging techniques has led to the introduction of new methods in many sections of radiology. While cone beam computed tomography is a fairly recent newcomer, it is a widely applied, precise three-dimensional method for imaging hard tissue structures especially in dental radiology. In addition to the precise imaging of hard tissue structures, its benefits include a smaller irradiation exposure than in conventional computed tomography, as well as lower price and, as a rule, smaller size of the equipment. With a different equipment design the method is also applicable to the imaging of soft tissues.