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Titanium (Ti) and Ti alloys possess extensive applications in the medical field due to their non-toxic, biocompatible, and antibacterial properties. This study investigates the biocompatibility enhancement of a Ti-based alloy, Ti-6Al-4V, through a multi-step process involving cathodic arc ion plating of a TiZrTa thin film and subsequent laser-textured oxidation (LTO). LTO treatment produced a structured microtopography with regular groove patterns, including straight lines (L-s), circles (L-c), and checkboards (L-ch), resulting in surface oxidation and the formation of various oxides on the TiZrTa coating. Microstructure analyses revealed substantial alterations in surface topography induced by laser texturing. Antibacterial assessments against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) showed that the films with LTO treatment did not exhibit significant advantages after 12 or 24 h of coculture because the laser-textured portions consisted of a combination of the film and the substrate, and the antibacterial effect was not obvious. Coatings with LTO treatment significantly improved L-929 mouse fibroblasts cell viability at 48 h, particularly for samples with a 50 μm spacing of straight and circular patterns (L-s and L-c). After two weeks of MG-63 human osteosarcoma cell culture, the viability of all samples reached similar levels. It suggested that the TiZrTa-coated Ti-6Al-4V exhibited good biocompatibility with both cells. This study contributed to the understanding of surface modification techniques for enhancing the biocompatibility of Ti-based alloys in biomedical applications. • A TiZrTa thin film with LTO treatment was applied onto Ti-6Al-4V alloys. • LTO produced regular groove patterns and resulted in superior hydrophilicity. • LTO-treated thin films did not have obvious antibacterial improvement of S. aureus. • LTO-treated thin films improved the cell viability of both L-929 and MG-63 cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Dental cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) is commonly used to evaluate cancellous bone density before dental implant surgery. However, to our knowledge, no measurement approach has been standardized yet. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between three different regions of interest (ROI) methods on cancellous bone density at the dental implant site using dental CBCT images. Methods: Patients' dental CBCT images (n = 300) obtained before dental implant surgery were processed using Mimics (Materialise, Leuven, Belgium). At the potential implant sites, the rectangle, cylinder, and surrounding cylinder ROI methods were used to measure bone density. Repeated measures one-way analysis of variance was performed to compare the three ROI methods in terms of measurement results. Pearson correlation analysis was performed to identify the likely pair-wise correlations between the three ROI methods. Results: The density value obtained using the surrounding cylinder approach (grayscale value [GV],523.56 ± 228.03) was significantly higher than the values obtained using the rectangle (GV, 497.04 ± 236.69) and cylinder (GV,493 ± 231.19) ROI methods in terms of results. Furthermore, significant correlations were noted between the ROI methods (r > 0.965; p < 0.001). Conclusions: The density measured using the surrounding cylinder method was the highest. The choice of method may not influence the trends of measurement results. Trial registration: This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of China Medical University Hospital, No. CMUH111-REC3-205. Informed consent was waived by the Institutional Review Board of China Medical University Hospital, CMUH111-REC3-205, owing to the retrospective nature of the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]