Abstract

BackgroundDimensional measurements have been implemented on a variety of entities in morphological studies of the sub-axial cervical vertebral endplate. Despite great progress, little information between the mid-sagittal plane and bilateral uncinate processes has been acquired due to the lack of a reliable method to determine the para-sagittal planes. Also, few studies of this region are available. We proposed a new approach to defining the para-sagittal planes on a 3D cervical vertebral body model; in this approach, dimensions can be measured in a specific plane. The aim of this study was to assess the inter-observer and intra-observer reliability of the measurements in different sagittal planes on sub-axial cervical vertebral endplates of 3D models.MethodsWe established mid-sagittal and bilateral quarter para-sagittal planes on the 3D model of a sub-axial cervical vertebral body based on landmarks labeled on the surface. By intersecting the vertebral body with the planes, three curves located at the three para-sagittal planes were generated. Linear dimensions were measured on every curve by two observers separately, and in total, 24 sub-axial cervical spines were included in the study. The first observer (O1) performed the procedure twice with an interval of 2 weeks. The paired t test, Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-rank test and the interclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were employed to evaluate the inter- and intra-observer reliability of the proposed method.ResultsThere were no significant differences in most intra- and inter-observer comparisons, and higher non-significant proportions were found in the intra-observer comparisons than in comparisons between different observers. The interclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) in the measurements were excellent (> 0.75) in most circumstances, and the values in intra-observer comparisons were higher than those in inter-observer comparisons.ConclusionsIn this study, we proposed an approach to determine the bilateral quarter para-sagittal planes in a 3D cervical vertebral body model; the results demonstrated that the method is reproducible with high intra- and inter-observer agreement.

Highlights

  • Dimensional measurements have been implemented on a variety of entities in morphological studies of the sub-axial cervical vertebral endplate

  • In this study, we proposed an approach to determine the bilateral quarter para-sagittal planes in a Three dimensional (3D) cervical vertebral body model; the results demonstrated that the method is reproducible with high intra- and interobserver agreement

  • Significant progress has been made in medical imaging, image segmentation, 3D model generation, and measuring techniques, further geometric knowledge remains to be elucidated at the region between the midsagittal plane (MSP) and bilateral uncinate processes (UPs), and a limited number of studies are available

Read more

Summary

Introduction

Dimensional measurements have been implemented on a variety of entities in morphological studies of the sub-axial cervical vertebral endplate. The aim of this study was to assess the inter-observer and intra-observer reliability of the measurements in different sagittal planes on sub-axial cervical vertebral endplates of 3D models. Significant progress has been made in medical imaging, image segmentation, 3D model generation, and measuring techniques, further geometric knowledge remains to be elucidated at the region between the midsagittal plane (MSP) and bilateral uncinate processes (UPs), and a limited number of studies are available. Feng et al defined the curves on parasagittal planes in a 3D model generated from optical scans of a cadaveric vertebral endplate [5] in a recent study

Objectives
Methods
Conclusion
Full Text
Published version (Free)

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call