title: Texture analysis of computed tomographic images in osteoporotic patients with sinus lift bone graft reconstruction.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Bone implants are now widely used to replace missing teeth. Bone grafting (sinus lift) is a very useful way to increase the bone volume of the maxilla in patients with bone atrophy. There is a 6- to 9-month delay for the receiver grafted site to heal before the implants can be placed. Computed tomography is a useful method to measure the amount of remaining bone before implantation and to evaluate the quality of the receiver bone at the end of the healing period. Texture analysis is a non-invasive method useful to characterize bone microarchitecture on X-ray images.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ten patients in which a sinus lift surgery was necessary before implantation were analyzed in the present study. All had a bone reconstruction with a combination of a biomaterial (beta tricalcium phosphate) and autograft bone harvested at the chin. Computed tomographic images were obtained before grafting (t0), at mid-interval (t1, 4.2 ± 0.7 months) and before implant placement (t2, 9.2 ± 0.6 months). Texture analysis was done with the run-length method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A significant increase of texture parameters at t1 reflected a gain of homogeneity due to the graft and the beginning of bone remodeling. At t2, some parameters remained high and corresponded to the persistence of bone trabeculae while the resorption of biomaterials was identified by other parameters which tended to return to pregraft values.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Texture analysis identified changes during the healing of the receiver site.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The method is known to correlate with microarchitectural changes in bone and could be a useful approach to characterized osseointegrated grafts.
authors.affiliation: LUNAM Université, GEROM-LHEA Bone Remodeling and Biomaterials-IRIS-IBS Institut de Biologie en Santé, CHU d'Angers, 49933, Angers, Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Hélène
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Marchand-Libouban
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Guillaume
authors.forename: Norbert
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bellaiche
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chappard
mesh_terms: D020341:Absorbable Implants; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016301:Alveolar Bone Loss / Q000601:surgery*; D016723:Bone Remodeling; D018786:Bone Substitutes; D002130:Calcium Phosphates; D017742:Dental Care for Chronically Ill; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008437:Maxilla / Q000473:pathology; D008443:Maxillary Sinus / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008875:Middle Aged; D013516:Oral Surgical Procedures, Preprosthetic; D016348:Osseointegration; D010024:Osteoporosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D059546:Sinus Floor Augmentation; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D018786:Bone Substitutes; D002130:Calcium Phosphates; C018392:tricalcium phosphate