A web-based system for statistical shape analysis in temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Informatics
• Medical Imaging Analysis
• Computational Biology

Background:

• Temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis (TMJ OA) presents diagnostic challenges.
• Integrating multi-center data and advanced statistical analysis is crucial for TMJ OA research.
• Existing platforms lack comprehensive tools for TMJ OA data management and analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce the Data Storage for Computation and Integration (DSCI) web system.
• To facilitate multi-center data contributions and advanced statistical computations for TMJ OA.
• To enable novel statistical approaches for TMJ OA disease classification.

Main Methods:

• Development of the DSCI web-system repository.
• Inclusion of imaging datasets (3D surface meshes from CBCT), clinical, and biological markers.
• Integration of a clusterpost package for remote grid computing.
• Application of Multivariate Functional Shape Data Analysis for morphological variability assessment.

Main Results:

• The DSCI system successfully stores and integrates diverse TMJ OA datasets.
• Advanced statistical analyses, including global correlations and local p-values, were computed on 3D condylar morphology.
• The system supports the execution of complex statistical packages for disease classification.

Conclusions:

• The DSCI provides a robust platform for collaborative TMJ OA research.
• It enables interactive and advanced statistical analyses for researchers.
• The system empowers non-statistical experts to utilize sophisticated computational tools for TMJ OA investigation.