Digital and manual cephalometric analysis.

Objectives: To compare the manual and digital cephalometric analyses and to research a new procedure of analog cephalogram digitalization.

Methods: 40 repeated measurements were used to evaluate the reproducibility and reliability of both methods. The analog x-ray was CHIRALUX2, the digital camera used was Canon PowerShot G5 and the digital tracing was done by Dolphin imaging version 10. The sample dispersion has been evaluated for each of the monitored cephalometric variables (SNA, SNB, ANB, PP/ML, inter-incisal angle and Wits). The difference of sample dispersion was tested (Morgan-Pitman). Four doctors processed 100 random analog cephalograms in total and evaluated them in a way established by Bland and Altman.

Results And Conclusion: Validity and reproducibility of analyses carried out manually and digitally is in high mutual correlation and therefore the software analysis can fully substitute the manual method. The dispersion of values in repeated measurements was higher in manual method and therefore we consider the digital method more accurate (Fig. 4, Tab. 1, Ref. 15). Full Text (Free, PDF) www.bmj.sk.