Validating cone-beam computed tomography for peri-implant bone morphometric analysis.
Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) has been recently used to analyse trabecular bone structure around dental implants. To validate the use of CBCT for three-dimensional (3D) peri-implant trabecular bone morphometry by comparing it to two-dimensional (2D) histology, 36 alveolar bone samples (with implants n=27 vs. without implants n=9) from six mongrel dogs, were scanned ex vivo using a high-resolution (80 µm) CBCT. After scanning, all samples were decalcified and then sectioned into thin histological sections (∼6 μm) to obtain high contrast 2D images. By using CTAn imaging software, bone morphometric parameters including trabecular number (Tb.N), thickness (Tb.Th), separation (Tb.Sp) and bone volume fraction (BV/TV) were examined on both CBCT and corresponding histological images. Higher Tb.Th and Tb.Sp, lower BV/TV and Tb.N were found on CBCT images (P<0.001). Both measurements on the peri-implant trabecular bone structure showed moderate to high correlation (r=0.65-0.85). The Bland-Altman plots showed strongest agreement for Tb.Th followed by Tb.Sp, Tb.N and BV/TV, regardless of the presence of implants. The current findings support the assumption that peri-implant trabecular bone structures based on high-resolution CBCT measurements are representative for the underlying histological bone characteristics, indicating a potential clinical diagnostic use of CBCT-based peri-implant bone morphometric characterisation.
OMFS IMPATH Research Group, Department of Imaging & Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Leuven and Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, University Hospitals Leuven , Leuven, Belgium ; State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University , Chengdu, China.
Yan
Y
Huang
OMFS IMPATH Research Group, Department of Imaging & Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Leuven and Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, University Hospitals Leuven , Leuven, Belgium.
Jeroen Van
JV
Dessel
ESAT/PSI, Medical Image Computing, KU Leuven , Leuven, Belgium.
Maarten
M
Depypere
OMFS IMPATH Research Group, Department of Imaging & Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Leuven and Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, University Hospitals Leuven , Leuven, Belgium.
Mostafa
M
EzEldeen
Faculty of Dentistry, UMF Craiova , Romania.
Alexandru Andrei
AA
Iliescu
School of Dentistry, Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná , Curitiba, Brazil.
Emanuela Dos
ED
Santos
Biomedical Research Institute, Hasselt University , Diepenbeek, Belgium.
Ivo
I
Lambrichts
School of Stomatology, Dalian Medical University , Dalian, China.
Xin
X
Liang
OMFS IMPATH Research Group, Department of Imaging & Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Leuven and Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, University Hospitals Leuven , Leuven, Belgium.
Reinhilde
R
Jacobs