AI-powered segmentation of bifid mandibular canals using CBCT

Abstract Objective Accurate segmentation of the mandibular and bifid canals is crucial in dental implant planning to ensure safe implant placement, third molar extractions and other surgical interventions. The objective of this study is to develop and validate an innovative artificial intelligence t...

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Main Authors: Ismail Gumussoy, Kardelen Demirezer, Suayip Burak Duman, Emre Haylaz, Ibrahim Sevki Bayrakdar, Ozer Celik, Ali Zakir Syed
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-06-01
Series:BMC Oral Health
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12903-025-06311-9
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author Ismail Gumussoy
Kardelen Demirezer
Suayip Burak Duman
Emre Haylaz
Ibrahim Sevki Bayrakdar
Ozer Celik
Ali Zakir Syed
author_facet Ismail Gumussoy
Kardelen Demirezer
Suayip Burak Duman
Emre Haylaz
Ibrahim Sevki Bayrakdar
Ozer Celik
Ali Zakir Syed
author_sort Ismail Gumussoy
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Objective Accurate segmentation of the mandibular and bifid canals is crucial in dental implant planning to ensure safe implant placement, third molar extractions and other surgical interventions. The objective of this study is to develop and validate an innovative artificial intelligence tool for the efficient, and accurate segmentation of the mandibular and bifid canals on CBCT. Materials and methods CBCT data were screened to identify patients with clearly visible bifid canal variations, and their DICOM files were extracted. These DICOM files were then imported into the 3D Slicer® open-source software, where bifid canals and mandibular canals were annotated. The annotated data, along with the raw DICOM files, were processed using the nnU-Netv2 training model by CranioCatch AI software team. Results 69 anonymized CBCT volumes in DICOM format were converted to NIfTI file format. The method, utilizing nnU-Net v2, accurately predicted the voxels associated with the mandibular canal, achieving an intersection of over 50% in nearly all samples. The accuracy, Dice score, precision, and recall scores for the mandibular canal/bifid canal were determined to be 0.99/0.99, 0.82/0.46, 0.85/0.70, and 0.80/0.42, respectively. Conclusions Despite the bifid canal segmentation not meeting the expected level of success, the findings indicate that the proposed method shows promising and has the potential to be utilized as a supplementary tool for mandibular canal segmentation. Due to the significance of accurately evaluating the mandibular canal before surgery, the use of artificial intelligence could assist in reducing the burden on practitioners by automating the complicated and time-consuming process of tracing and segmenting this structure. Clinical relevance Being able to distinguish bifid channels with artificial intelligence will help prevent neurovascular problems that may occur before or after surgery.
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spelling doaj-art-10d91a42541a4dcdb5dd8ae475c7353e2025-08-20T03:10:32ZengBMCBMC Oral Health1472-68312025-06-012511910.1186/s12903-025-06311-9AI-powered segmentation of bifid mandibular canals using CBCTIsmail Gumussoy0Kardelen Demirezer1Suayip Burak Duman2Emre Haylaz3Ibrahim Sevki Bayrakdar4Ozer Celik5Ali Zakir Syed6Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Faculty of Dentistry, Sakarya UniversityDepartment of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Faculty of Dentistry, Inonu UniversityDepartment of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Faculty of Dentistry, Inonu UniversityDepartment of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Faculty of Dentistry, Sakarya UniversityDepartment of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Faculty of Dentistry, Eskişehir Osmangazi UniversityDepartment of Mathematics-Computer, Faculty of Science, Eskişehir Osmangazi UniversityDepartment of Oral and Maxillofacial Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, School of Dental Medicine, Case Western Reserve UniversityAbstract Objective Accurate segmentation of the mandibular and bifid canals is crucial in dental implant planning to ensure safe implant placement, third molar extractions and other surgical interventions. The objective of this study is to develop and validate an innovative artificial intelligence tool for the efficient, and accurate segmentation of the mandibular and bifid canals on CBCT. Materials and methods CBCT data were screened to identify patients with clearly visible bifid canal variations, and their DICOM files were extracted. These DICOM files were then imported into the 3D Slicer® open-source software, where bifid canals and mandibular canals were annotated. The annotated data, along with the raw DICOM files, were processed using the nnU-Netv2 training model by CranioCatch AI software team. Results 69 anonymized CBCT volumes in DICOM format were converted to NIfTI file format. The method, utilizing nnU-Net v2, accurately predicted the voxels associated with the mandibular canal, achieving an intersection of over 50% in nearly all samples. The accuracy, Dice score, precision, and recall scores for the mandibular canal/bifid canal were determined to be 0.99/0.99, 0.82/0.46, 0.85/0.70, and 0.80/0.42, respectively. Conclusions Despite the bifid canal segmentation not meeting the expected level of success, the findings indicate that the proposed method shows promising and has the potential to be utilized as a supplementary tool for mandibular canal segmentation. Due to the significance of accurately evaluating the mandibular canal before surgery, the use of artificial intelligence could assist in reducing the burden on practitioners by automating the complicated and time-consuming process of tracing and segmenting this structure. Clinical relevance Being able to distinguish bifid channels with artificial intelligence will help prevent neurovascular problems that may occur before or after surgery.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12903-025-06311-9Artificial intelligenceCone beam computed tomographyBifid mandibular canalMandibular canal
spellingShingle Ismail Gumussoy
Kardelen Demirezer
Suayip Burak Duman
Emre Haylaz
Ibrahim Sevki Bayrakdar
Ozer Celik
Ali Zakir Syed
AI-powered segmentation of bifid mandibular canals using CBCT
BMC Oral Health
Artificial intelligence
Cone beam computed tomography
Bifid mandibular canal
Mandibular canal
title AI-powered segmentation of bifid mandibular canals using CBCT
title_full AI-powered segmentation of bifid mandibular canals using CBCT
title_fullStr AI-powered segmentation of bifid mandibular canals using CBCT
title_full_unstemmed AI-powered segmentation of bifid mandibular canals using CBCT
title_short AI-powered segmentation of bifid mandibular canals using CBCT
title_sort ai powered segmentation of bifid mandibular canals using cbct
topic Artificial intelligence
Cone beam computed tomography
Bifid mandibular canal
Mandibular canal
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12903-025-06311-9
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