Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 1, 2026
Dissection of the Auditory Bulla in Postnatal Mice: Isolation of the Middle Ear Bones and Histological Analysis
Published on: January 4, 2017
Diagnostic value of bent-lever planes in detecting abnormality of the malleus-incus complex
Yong Quan1, Lebin Wu, Jianfeng Li
1Shandong Medical Imaging Research Institute, Shandong University, Jinan, People's Republic of China.
Objective:
To retrospectively investigate the diagnostic value of the bent-lever planes in detecting abnormality of the malleus-incus complex.
Study Design:
Diagnostic test assessment.
Setting:
The study was conducted at the Shandong Medical Imaging Research Institute, Shandong University, Jinan, People's Republic of China.
Subjects:
Eighty-five ears in 74 patients with surgically proved abnormality of the malleus-incus complex.
Materials And Methods:
The bent-lever planes and direct axial images were reviewed by 2 radiologists. The radiologists assigned a value of abnormality or continuity to different parts of the malleus-incus complex. Differences in categorical data were evaluated with the McNemar test. The sensitivity, specificity, Youden index, and interobserver agreement were calculated.
Results:
There was no significant difference between bent-lever planes and direct axial images in identifying abnormality of the malleus-incus complex. The sensitivity ranged from 71.4% to 97.1%, and specificity ranged from 89.5% to 100.0%. The Youden index ranged from 0.609 to 0.971. The radiologists had almost perfect or substantial agreement in identifying the abnormality of different parts of the malleus-incus complex.
Conclusion:
The bent-lever planes do not add additional diagnostic value for experienced observers.
