When trabecular bone appears blurry in CT imaging, which quality control issue is likely responsible?

When trabecular bone appears blurry in CT imaging, this typically indicates a problem related to spatial resolution. Spatial resolution refers to the ability of the imaging system to distinguish between closely spaced structures; in essence, it affects the clarity and detail of the image. Trabecular bone has a complex and fine structure, which demands high spatial resolution to depict the intricate details accurately. If spatial resolution is insufficient, these details become indistinct or blurred, making it difficult to identify the nuances of the trabecular architecture.

In contrast, while contrast resolution affects the ability to differentiate between tissues of different densities and is important for visualizing differences in soft tissue, it does not primarily account for blurriness in specific fine structures like trabecular bone. CT number accuracy refers to how well the system can accurately represent the densities of various tissues in numerical values, which affects quantitative assessments rather than the clarity of the images. Uniformity relates to the consistency of imaging across the field and could affect image quality globally, but it is not specifically linked to the blurriness of trabecular bone features. Hence, the blurriness is most directly tied to challenges with spatial resolution.