Objectives: To investigate the reliability of regional three-dimensional registration and superimposition methods for assessment of temporomandibular joint condylar morphology across subjects and longitudinally.
Methods: The sample consisted of cone beam CT scans of 36 patients. The across-subject comparisons included 12 controls, mean age 41.3 ± 12.0 years, and 12 patients with temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis, mean age 41.3 ± 14.7 years. The individual longitudinal assessments included 12 patients with temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis, mean age 37.8 ± 16.7 years, followed up at pre-operative jaw surgery, immediately after and one-year post-operative. Surface models of all condyles were constructed from the cone beam CT scans. Two previously calibrated observers independently performed all registration methods. A landmark-based approach was used for the registration of across-subject condylar models, and temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis vs control group differences were computed with shape analysis. A voxel-based approach was used for registration of longitudinal scans calculated x, y, z degrees of freedom for translation and rotation. Two-way random intraclass correlation coefficients tested the interobserver reliability.
Results: Statistically significant differences between the control group and the osteoarthritis group were consistently located on the lateral and medial poles for both observers. The interobserver differences were ≤0.2 mm. For individual longitudinal comparisons, the mean interobserver differences were ≤0.6 mm in translation errors and 1.2° in rotation errors, with excellent reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient >0.75).
Conclusions: Condylar registration for across-subjects and longitudinal assessments is reliable and can be used to quantify subtle bony differences in the three-dimensional condylar morphology.
Keywords: condyle; measurements; morphology; registration; reliability; temporomandibular joint.