A novel AI model for detecting periapical lesion on CBCT: CBCT-SAM

Periapical lesions are not always evident on radiographic scans. Sometimes, asymptomatic or initial periapical lesions on cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) could be missed by inexperienced dentists, especially when the scan has a large field of view and is not for endodontic treatment purposes. Previously, numerous algorithms have been introduced to assist radiographic assessment and diagnosis in the field of endodontics. This study aims to investigate the efficacy of CBCT-SAM, a new artificial intelligence (AI) model, in identifying periapical lesions on CBCT.

Model training and validation in this study was performed using 185 CBCT scans with confirmed periapical lesions. Manual segmentation labels were prepared by a trained operator and validated by a maxillofacial radiologist. The diagnostic and segmentation performances of four AI models were evaluated and compared: CBCT-SAM, CBCT-SAM without progressive Prediction Refinement Module (PPR), and two previously developed models: Modified U-Net and PAL-Net. Accuracy was used to evaluated the diagnostic performance of the models, and accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, precision and Dice Similarity Coefficient (DSC) were used to evaluate the models' segmentation performance.

CBCT-SAM achieved an average diagnostic accuracy of 98.92% ± 010.37% and an average segmentation accuracy of 99.65% ± 0.66%. The average sensitivity, specificity, precision and DSC were 72.36 ± 21.61%, 99.87% ± 0.11%, 0.73 ± 0.21 and 0.70 ± 0.19. CBCT-SAM and PAL-Net performed significantly better than Modified U-Net in segmentation accuracy (p = 0.023, p = 0.041), sensitivity (p = 0.000, p = 0.002), and DSC (p= 0.001, p= 0.004). There is no significant difference between CBCT-SAM, CBCT-SAM without PPR and PAL-Net. However, with PPR incorporated into the model, CBCT-SAM slightly surpassed PAL-Net in the diagnostic and segmentation tasks.

CBCT-SAM is capable of providing expert-level assistance in the identification of periapical lesions on CBCT.

The application of artificial intelligence could increase dentists' chairside diagnostic accuracy and efficiency. By assisting radiographic assessment, such as periapical lesions on CBCT, it helps reduce the chance of missed diagnosis by human errors and facilitates early detection and treatment of dental pathologies at the early stage.