Three-dimensional analysis of alveolar bone resorption by image processing of 3-D dental CT images

Abstract

We have developed a novel system that provides total support for assessment of alveolar bone resorption, caused by periodontitis, based on three-dimensional (3-D) dental CT images. In spite of the difficulty in perceiving the complex 3-D shape of resorption, dentists assessing resorption location and severity have been relying on two-dimensional radiography and probing, which merely provides one-dimensional information (depth) about resorption shape. However, there has been little work on assisting assessment of the disease by 3-D image processing and visualization techniques. This work provides quantitative evaluation results and figures for our system that measures the three-dimensional shape and spread of resorption. It has the following functions: (1) measures the depth of resorption by virtually simulating probing in the 3-D CT images, taking advantage of image processing of not suffering obstruction by teeth on the inter-proximal sides and much smaller measurement intervals than the conventional examination; (2) visualizes the disposition of the depth by movies and graphs; (3) produces a quantitative index and intuitive visual representation of the spread of resorption in the inter-radicular region in terms of area; and (4) calculates the volume of resorption as another severity index in the inter-radicular region and the region outside it. Experimental results in two cases of 3-D dental CT images and a comparison of the results with the clinical examination results and experts' measurements of the corresponding patients confirmed that the proposed system gives satisfying results, including 0.1 to 0.6mm of resorption measurement (probing) error and fairly intuitive presentation of measurement and calculation results.