title: Superimposition of 3D cone-beam CT models of orthognathic surgery patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the registration of 3D models from cone-beam CT (CBCT) images taken before and after orthognathic surgery for the assessment of mandibular anatomy and position.
  
  
  METHODS
  CBCT scans were taken before and after orthognathic surgery for ten patients with various malocclusions undergoing maxillary surgery only. 3D models were constructed from the CBCT images utilizing semi-automatic segmentation and manual editing. The cranial base was used to register 3D models of pre- and post-surgery scans (1 week). After registration, a novel tool allowed the visual and quantitative assessment of post-operative changes via 2D overlays of superimposed models and 3D coloured displacement maps.
  
  
  RESULTS
  3D changes in mandibular rami position after surgical procedures were clearly illustrated by the 3D colour-coded maps. The average displacement of all surfaces was 0.77 mm (SD=0.17 mm), at the posterior border 0.78 mm (SD=0.25 mm), and at the condyle 0.70 mm (SD=0.07 mm). These displacements were close to the image spatial resolution of 0.60 mm. The average interobserver differences were negligible. The range of the interobserver errors for the average of all mandibular rami surface distances was 0.02 mm (SD=0.01 mm).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results suggest this method provides a valid and reproducible assessment of craniofacial structures for patients undergoing orthognathic surgery. This technique may be used to identify different patterns of ramus and condylar remodelling following orthognathic surgery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthodontics, School of Dentistry, 201 Brauer Hall, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7450, USA. cevidanl@dentistry.unc.edu
authors.forename: L H S
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Cevidanes
authors.forename: L J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Bailey
authors.forename: G R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Tucker
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Styner
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mol
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.forename: W R
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Proffit
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Turvey
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008297:Male; D008334:Mandible / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery; D008335:Mandibular Condyle / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008437:Maxilla / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery; D003765:Models, Dental; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed