Virtual arthroscopy of the visible human female temporomandibular joint.

PURPOSE: This study was designed to obtain views of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) by means of computed arthroscopic simulation (virtual arthroscopy) using three-dimensional (3D) processing.

MATERIAL AND

METHODS

Volume renderings of the TMJ from very thin cryosection slices of the Visible Human Female were taken off the Internet. Analyze(AVW) software (Biomedical Imaging Resource, Mayo Foundation, Rochester, MN) on a Silicon Graphics 02 workstation (Mountain View, CA) was then used to obtain 3D images and allow the navigation "fly-through" of the simulated joint.

RESULTS

Good virtual arthroscopic views of the upper and lower joint spaces of both TMJs were obtained by fly-through simulation from the lateral and endaural sides. It was possible to observe the presence of a partial defect in the articular disc and an osteophyte on the condyle. Virtual arthroscopy provided visualization of regions not accessible to real arthroscopy.

CONCLUSION

These results indicate that virtual arthroscopy will be a new technique to investigate the TMJ of the patient with TMJ disorders in the near future.