Stereology volume analysis to evaluate teeth’s root using CBCT images

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate a semiautomated segmentation tool designated for the volume measurements of teeth root; this method is based on three-dimensional and focused to follow-up the root’s volume when an orthodontic treatment occurred. Materials and methods: In order to evaluate a semiautomated segmentation tool, a cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) was selected with 20 intact teeth (10 maxillary and 10 mandibular teeth), CBCT images were imported into the ImageJ software, and the root volumes were measured using two methods (the semiautomated segmentation and the manual segmenta-tion). Both segmentations are carried out by two experts; the manual segmentation served as a reference method and considered as the “gold standard”. The data were analyzed using the Bland–Altman analysis to compare the agreement between methods, and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to assess the interobserver reliability. Results: The Bland–Altman analysis revealed the agreement between measurements on semiautomated segmentation and manual segmentation, with a mean bias of –2.09 mm 3 and the 95% limits of agreement of –11.38 to 7.21 mm 3 . The ICC was 0.999 for semiautomated segmentation method and 0.999 for manual segmentation method. Conclusion: The use of stereology employing the ImageJ software and CBCT images provide an accurate and reliable semiautomated segmentation, leading to an approach of volume quantitative analysis to evaluate and follow-up the root’s volume when orthodontic treatment occurred. Further clinical studies are necessary to explore this method.