Reliability of skeletal maturity analysis using the cervical vertebrae maturation method on dedicated software
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Published on: January 29, 2018
Saverio Padalino1, Maria Francesca Sfondrini2, Laura Chenuil3
1Via Emilia Est 181, 41121 Modena, Italy.
Objectives:
The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of skeletal maturation analysis using the Cervical Vertebrae Maturation (CVM) method by means of dedicated software, developed in collaboration with Outside Format (Paullo-Milan), as compared with manual analysis.
Materials And Methods:
From a sample of patients aged 7-21 years, we gathered 100 lateral cephalograms, 20 for each of the five CVM stages. For each cephalogram, we traced cervical vertebrae C2, C3 and C4 by hand using a lead pencil and an acetate sheet and dedicated software. All the tracings were made by an experienced operator (a dentofacial orthopedics resident) and by an inexperienced operator (a student in dental surgery). Each operator recorded the time needed to make each tracing in order to demonstrate differences in the times taken.
Results:
Concordance between the manual analysis and the analysis performed using the dedicated software was 94% for the resident and 93% for the student. Interobserver concordance was 99%. The hand-tracing was quicker than that performed by means of the software (28 seconds more on average).
Conclusions:
The cervical vertebrae analysis software offers excellent clinical performance, even if the method takes longer than the manual technique.
