The influence of secondary reconstruction slice thickness on NewTom 3G cone beam computed tomography-based radiological interpretation of sheep mandibular condyle fractures.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study was to examine the diagnostic accuracy of the different secondary reconstruction slice thicknesses of cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) on artificially created mandibular condyle fractures.


METHODS
A total of 63 sheep heads with or without condylar fractures were scanned with a NewTom 3G CBCT scanner. Multiplanar reformatted (MPR) views in 0.2-mm, 1-mm, 2-mm, and 3-mm secondary reconstruction slice thicknesses were evaluated by 7 observers. Inter- and intraobserver agreements were calculated with weighted kappa statistics. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to statistically compare the area under the curve (AUC) of each slice thickness.


RESULTS
The kappa coefficients varied from fair and to excellent. The AUCs of 0.2-mm and 1-mm slice thicknesses were found to be significantly higher than those of 2 mm and 3 mm for some type of fractures.


CONCLUSIONS
CBCT was found to be accurate in detecting all variants of fractures at 0.2 mm and 1 mm. However, 2-mm and 3-mm slices were not suitable to detect fissure, complete, and comminuted types of mandibular condyle fractures.
Sirin
Yigit
Y
Istanbul University, Faculty of Dentistry, Department of Oral Surgery, Istanbul, Turkey. ysirin@istanbul.edu.tr
Guven
Koray
K
Horasan
Sinan
S
Sencan
Sabri
S
Bakir
Baris
B
Barut
Oya
O
Tanyel
Cem
C
Aral
Ali
A
Firat
Deniz
D
D000818:Animals; D019540:Area Under Curve; D054893:Cone-Beam Computed Tomography / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D018460:Fractures, Comminuted / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004204:Joint Dislocations / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008335:Mandibular Condyle / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000293:injuries*; D008337:Mandibular Fractures / Q000145:classification / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D015588:Observer Variation; D012372:ROC Curve; D011857:Radiographic Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D012756:Sheep