ABSTRACT
Introduction: Traditionally, cephalometric analysis has beencarried out using a hand-tracing manual method. In imaging,picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) areinformation management systems used for the capture andmeasurement of medical and dental radiographs. Althoughnot customized for lateral cephalometry, this study aimed toevaluate the cephalometric measurements made on screenwith Nemoceph NX 2006 software using PACS comparedwith the conventional hand-tracing method.Material and methods: All the subjects were positioned inthe cephalostat with the sagittal plane at right angles to thepath of the X-rays and to the Frankfort plane parallel to thefloor. That digital cephalogram was sent to printer via ImageDent software to print the hard copy through Laser printer andit is also transferred to the personal computer of Department ofOrthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopaedics by PACS (picturearchiving and communication systems) method.Results: In this study the total time taken in manual tracing is30 min, while digital tracing takes around 35 min. So, Timetaken in manual tracing is less than digital tracing that might bebecause only few parameters has been included in this study.The results showed no statistically significant differences inany of the assessed measurements (p> 0.05).Conclusion: Conventional and computerized methodsshowed consistency in all angular and linear measurements.The computer program Nemotech dental studio NX 2006 canbe used reliably as an aid in diagnosing, planning, monitoringand evaluating orthodontic treatment both in clinical andresearch settings.