Comparison of automatic airway analysis function of Invivo5 and Romexis software

Background Visualization and calculation of the airway dimensions are important because an increase of airway resistance may lead to life-threatening emergencies. The visualization and calculation of the airway are possible using radiography technique with their advance software. The aim of this study was to compare and to test the reliability of the measurement of the upper airway volume and minimum area using airway analysis function in two software. Methods The sample consisted of 11 cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans data, evaluated using the Invivo5 (Anatomage) and Romexis (version 3.8.2.R, Planmeca) software which afford image reconstruction, and airway analysis. The measurements were done twice with one week gap between the two measurements. The measurement obtained was analyzed with t -tests and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), with confidence intervals (CI) was set at 95%. Results From the analysis, the mean reading of volume and minimum area is not significantly different between Invivo5 and Romexis. Excellent intrarater reliability values were found for the both measurement on both software, with ICC values ranging from 0.940 to 0.998. Discussion The results suggested that both software can be used in further studies to investigate upper airway, thereby contributing to the diagnosis of upper airway obstructions.