Cranial reconstruction evaluation - comparison of European statistical shape model performance on Chinese dataset

PURPOSE: Morphological variability of the skull is an important consideration for cranioplasty and implant design. Differences in morphology of the skull based on the ethnicity are known. In a previous study we could show the accuracy and benefits of virtual reconstructions based on a statistical shape model (SSM) for neurocranial defects. As the SSM is trained on European data, the question arises how well this model fares when dealing with patients with a different ethnic background. In this study we aim to evaluate the accuracy and applicability of our proposed method when deploying a cranial SSM generated from European data to estimate missing parts of the neurocranium in a Chinese population. METHODS: We used the same data and methods as in our previous study and compared the outcomes when applied to Chinese individuals. A large unilateral defect on the right side and a bilateral defect were created. The outer surface of the cranial table was reconstructed from CT scans, meshed with triangular elements, and registered to a template. Principal component analysis together with Thin Plate Spines (TPS) deformation was applied to quantify modes of variation. The mesh to mesh distances between the original defects´ surfaces and the reconstructed surface were computed. RESULTS: Comparing the Chinese test group with the European control group, regarding the entire defect the analysis shows no significant difference for unilateral defects (test vs. control group/0.46 mm ± vs. 0.44 mm). Reconstruction of bilateral defects exhibited only in slightly higher prediction errors than those of unilateral defects (0.49 mm ± vs. 0.45 mm). CONCLUSION: The proposed method shows a high accuracy that seems to be ethnical independent - with low error margins for virtual skull reconstruction and implant design. Clinical relevance: Metallic objects may severely impact image quality in several CBCT devices.