Three - dimensional ultrasound evaluation of tongue volume

Abstract

Abstract: Background: The purpose of this study was to find a three - dimensional (3D) ultrasound technique for tongue volume estimation, to compare male and female groups and to find the correlation between tongue volume and body characteristics.Methods: 3D ultrasound was performed within a group of 14 men and a group of 18 women with norm-occlusion. The collected data were analysed by annexed software and the tongue volume was estimated. The repeatability as well as intra- and inter-rater agreement was determined by calculating intra-class correlation coefficient. The Student t-test was used to determine if there were significant differences in tongue volume and body characteristics between the male and the female groups. Pearson correlation coefficients were used to assess the relationship between tongue volume and body characteristics.Results: The 3D ultrasound estimation of tongue volume was highly repeatable in terms of good intraclass correlation coefficients of repeatability (ICC: 0,997) as well as intra- and inter-rater reliabilities (ICC: 0,998 and 0,993 respectively). The male group were significantly taller, heavier and with higher BMI than the female group, and had significantly larger tongue volumes (mean of 89.2 cm3 in males vs. 67.2 cm3 in females). Only the body weights and BMIs in the male group correlated with the tongue volume.Conclusion: This study did demonstrate a valid and reproducible 3D ultrasound technique for tongue volume assessment.