Abstract：
The maxilla occupies a key position in dentofacial orthopaedics, since its transversal development can be directly influenced by orthodontic therapy. The maturation stages of the mid-palatal suture, which are obtained from cone-beam computed tomography images (CBCT), present an addition to clinical decision-making in transversal discrepancies of the upper jaw. In an endeavour to reduce ionizing radiation in adolescents and young adults, who are particularly susceptible to long term stochastic irradiation effects, we investigated the feasibility of 3 Tesla (3T) MRI in detecting the maturation stages of the mid-palatal suture. A collective of 30 patients aged 24-93 years with routine neck MRI at 3T, underwent an additional three-dimensional isotropic T1 weighted study sequence of the midface. Image evaluation was performed on axial, multi-planar formatted reconstructions of the dataset aligned to the midline axis of the palate, and curved reconstructions aligned to the concavity of the palate. Inverted images helped to achieve an image impression similar to the well-known CBCT appearance. All datasets were reviewed by three readers and mid-palatal maturation was scored twice according to Angelieri et al. Intra- and inter-rater agreement were evaluated to measure the robustness of the images for clinical evaluation. 3T MRI deemed reliable for the assessment of mid-palatal suture maturation and hence for the appraisal of the hard palate and its adjacent sutures. The data of this pilot study display the feasibility of non-ionizing cross-sectional MRI for the determination of sutural maturation stages. These findings underline the potential of MRI for orthodontic treatment planning, further contributing to the avoidance of unnecessary radiation doses.
摘要：
上颌骨在颌面骨科中占有重要地位,因为它的横向发展可以直接受到正畸治疗的影响。腭中缝的成熟期,从锥形束计算机断层扫描图像（CBCT）获得，为上颌横向差异的临床决策提供补充。为了努力减少青少年和年轻人的电离辐射，他们特别容易受到长期随机辐射效应的影响，我们研究了3特斯拉（3T）MRI在检测中腭缝合成熟阶段的可行性。一组30例患者，年龄24-93岁，在3T进行常规颈部MRI，进行了一个额外的三维各向同性T1加权研究序列的中间面。图像评估是在轴向，与腭的中坐标轴对齐的数据集的多平面格式重建，弯曲的重建与上颚的凹度对齐。倒置图像有助于实现类似于众所周知的CBCT外观的图像印象。所有数据集均由三名读者审查，并根据Angelieri等人对the中成熟进行了两次评分。评估者内部和评估者之间的一致性，以测量图像的鲁棒性以进行临床评估。3TMRI被认为是评估中腭缝合线成熟的可靠方法，因此可以评估硬腭及其相邻缝合线。这项初步研究的数据显示了非电离横截面MRI用于确定缝合成熟阶段的可行性。这些发现强调了MRI在正畸治疗计划中的潜力，进一步有助于避免不必要的辐射剂量。
