Cross gender-age trabecular texture analysis in cone beam CT

Area of Science:

• Dental imaging and analysis
• Radiology
• Biomedical engineering

Background:

• Trabecular bone patterns change with age and gender.
• Cone beam CT (CBCT) is a common dental imaging modality.
• Understanding these variations can aid in diagnosing bone conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if CBCT texture features correlate with gender-age variations in trabecular bone patterns.
• To explore the potential of CBCT for advanced trabecular analysis.

Main Methods:

• CBCT scans from 96 subjects were analyzed.
• Subjects were divided into four gender-age groups.
• Texture features were extracted from four jaw regions of interest (ROIs) and statistically analyzed.

Main Results:

• 149 out of 432 texture feature pairs showed statistically significant differences (p<0.05) between gender-age groups.
• Fractal features were more effective than intensity features in differentiating groups.
• Mandibular body trabecular patterns exhibited stronger correlations with gender-age changes.

Conclusions:

• Multiple CBCT texture features correlate with gender-age variations in trabecular patterns.
• CBCT is suitable for advanced trabecular analysis.
• Potential applications include osteoporosis screening in the jaws.