J Korean Assoc Oral Maxillofac Surg.  2007 Oct;33(5):494-498.

Radiologic assessment of bone healing by fractal analysis after the treatment of jaw bone cyst by decompression

• Baek JW
• Seok M
• Lee ES
• Jang HS
• Rim JS

Abstract

PURPOSE: This study was done to know the usefulness of fractal analysis when evaluating the radiologic changes after decompression on jaw bone cystic lesions using fractal analysis.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
30cases of cystic lesions were followed up after decompression. Panoramic image was used to observe radiologic changes around the cystic lesion. The part of the panoramic image which showed radiologic change was defined as region of interest(ROI); The fractal dimension of the ROI was calculated using box-counting method.
RESULTS
Using sign-rank test, there was a statistically significant difference in fractal dimensions after decompression therapy(P<;0.0001). The fractal dimensions statistically increased after decompression(the median of D:0.12).
CONCLUSIONS
The ROI after decompression showed higher fractal dimensions which offer the objective proof of the bone healing around cystic lesions after decompression treatment.

Keyword

Cyst; Fractal analysis; Decompression

MeSH Terms

Bone Cysts*
Decompression*
Fractals*
Jaw*