Fractal dimension analysis on CBCT scans for detecting low bone mineral density in postmenopausal women
B. Carvalho, Julia Gonçalves Koehne de Castro, Nilce Santos de Melo, Paulo Tadeu de Souza Figueiredo, Carla Ruffeil Moreira Mesquita, Ana Patrícia de Paula, Rafael Sindeaux, André Ferreira Leite
Abstract
Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare the fractal dimension (FD) measured at 2 bone sites (second cervical vertebra and mandible) on cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). The research question was whether FD could serve as an accessory tool to refer postmenopausal women for densitometric analysis. Therefore, the reliability and accuracy of FD were evaluated. Materials and Methods: value less than 0.05 was considered to indicate statistical significance for all tests. Results: =0.720) for the mandibular and vertebral sites, respectively. Conclusion: FD at the vertebral site could not be used as an adjuvant tool to refer women for osteoporosis investigation. Although FD differed between women with normal BMD and osteoporosis at the mandibular site, it demonstrated low accuracy and reliability.