Surg Radiol Anat (2008) 30:663–667 DOI 10.1007/s00276-008-0400-z 123 ORIGINAL ARTICLE Comparison of conventional MRI and 3D reconstruction model for evaluation of temporomandibular joint André L. F. Costa · Clarissa Lin Yasuda · Simone Appenzeller · Sérgio L. P. C. Lopes · Fernando Cendes Received: 28 January 2008 / Accepted: 21 July 2008 / Published online: 13 August 2008  Springer-Verlag 2008 Abstract The aim of this work was to deWne the diagnos- tic value of a method for 3D reconstruction of MRI images for the assessment of temporomandibular joint. Sixty sub- jects, 42 diagnosed with unilateral temporomandibular dis- orders (TMD) with disc displacement and 18 without signs or symptoms of TMD (control group) were included. All subjects had both temporomandibular joints scanned by MRI. Three-dimensional imaging reconstructions of tem- poromandibular joint were generated by segmentation soft- ware, allowing visualization of the components of temporomandibular joint (articular disc, condyle and tem- poral bone) on arbitrary planes. Disc displacement was observed in 83% of 3D reconstruction and 81% of conven- tional MRI. The agreement between 3D diagnosis and MRI Wndings was signiWcant and high. The present analysis sug- gested that 3D reconstruction is a useful and accurate method for the assessment of the temporomandibular joint in TMD ID. Keywords Temporomandibular joint · Magnetic resonance imaging · Three-dimensional image · Temporomandibular articular disc · Three-dimensional reconstruction Introduction The temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is a synovial joint between the condyle of mandible and glenoid fossa of squa- mous temporal bone [21]. Interposed between the osseous articular surfaces of the joint there is a Wbrous cartilage disc. Temporomandibular disorder (TMD) is a heterogeneous group of disorders aVecting the temporomandibular joints, the masticatory muscles, or both, with a reported preva- lence of 5–12% [4, 7, 16]. TMJ internal derangement (TMD ID) is the most frequent type of TMD and is charac- terized by several stages of dysfunction that involve the condyle-disc relationship [10, 21]. The most frequent type of disc displacement described has been anterior disc dis- placement [11, 23]. Imaging of TMJ is a valuable instrument in the diagnosis of TMD in addition to its clinical Wndings [15, 17]. Mag- netic resonance imaging (MRI) of the TMJ is up-to-date diagnostic method, widely used as it yields excellent ana- tomic detail in static examination with high sensitivity, speciWcity and accuracy [9, 22]. MRI allows analysis of disc position in both sagittal and coronal planes, as well as, dynamic assessment of condylar translation and disc move- ment during opening and closing, disc morphology, joint eVusions, synovitis [1, 6, 8, 18, 24]. However, the spatial resolution of MRI may not be suYcient for accurate imag- ing of all structures of TMJ, and it do not exhibit detectable contrast and thus remains poorly visible or invisible at ana- tomical MRI leading a wrong diagnosis. A. L. F. Costa · C. L. Yasuda · S. Appenzeller · S. L. P. C. Lopes · F. Cendes (&) Laboratory of Neuroimaging, Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Campinas, Cidade Universitaria Zeferino Vaz, Campinas, SP CEP 13083970, Brazil e-mail: fcendes@unicamp.br A. L. F. Costa e-mail: alfcosta@gmail.com C. L. Yasuda e-mail: clarissa.yasuda@gmail.com S. Appenzeller e-mail: appenzellersimone@yahoo.com S. L. P. C. Lopes e-mail: segiro@gmail.com