Correlation between magnetic resonance imaging and cone-beam computed tomography for maxillary sinus graft assessment

Little is known regarding the accuracy of clinical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocols with acceptable scan times in sinus graft assessment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlations between MRI and cone-beam computed tomographic (CBCT) measurements of maxillary sinus grafts using 2 different clinical MRI imaging protocols.

A total of 15 patients who underwent unilateral sinus lift surgery with biphasic calcium phosphate were included in this study. CBCT, T1-weighted MRI, and T2-weighted MRI scans were taken 6 months after sinus lift surgery. Linear measurements of the maximum height and buccolingual width in coronal images, as well as the maximum anteroposterior depth in sagittal images, were performed by 2 trained observers using CBCT and MRI Digital Imaging and Communication in Medicine files. Microcomputed tomography (micro-CT) was also performed to confirm the presence of bone tissue in the grafted area. Correlations between MRI and CBCT measurements were assessed with the Pearson test.

Significant correlations between CBCT and MRI were found for sinus graft height (T1-weighted, r=0.711 and P<0.05; T2-weighted, r=0.713 and P<0.05), buccolingual width (T1-weighted, r=0.892 and P<0.05; T2-weighted, r=0.956 and P<0.05), and anteroposterior depth (T1-weighted, r=0.731 and P<0.05; T2-weighted, r=0.873 and P<0.05). The presence of bone tissue in the grafted areas was confirmed via micro-CT.

Both MRI pulse sequences tested can be used for sinus graft measurements, as strong correlations with CBCT were found. However, correlations between T2-weighted MRI and CBCT were slightly higher than those between T1-weighted MRI and CBCT.