Preciseness of artificial intelligence for lateral cephalometric measurements

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to assess the accuracy and efficiency of a new artificial intelligence (AI) method in performing lateral cephalometric radiographic measurements. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 200 lateral cephalometric radiographs were assessed for quality and included. Three methods were used to perform the cephalometric measurements: (1) the AI method using WebCeph software (AssembleCircle Corp., Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea), (2) the modified AI method using WebCeph software after manual modification of the landmarks' position, and (3) using OnyxCeph software (Image Instruments GmbH, Chemnitz, Germany) by manual landmark identification and digital measurements generation. The results of the measurements produced by the three methods were compared, in addition to comparing the time required for the measurements' generation required for each method. RESULTS: Statistically significant differences were detected between the measurements resulting from the three used methods. Fewer differences were detected between the modified AI method and the OnyxCeph method. The AI method produced the measurements the fastest followed by the modified AI method and then the OnyxCeph method. CONCLUSIONS: Considering the used AI software, AI followed by manual tuning of the landmarks' position might be an accurate method in lateral cephalometric analysis. AI alone is still not fully reliable at locating the different landmarks on the lateral cephalometric radiographs.