Reproducibility of a magnet-based jaw motion analysis system

Background: The Dental Motion Decoder system (DMS-System) is a medical device based on magnetic field technology that records mandible movements. The data can be used to program an articulator or can be directly processed over a computer-aided design (CAD) interface. The present study aimed to assess the reproducibility of this system in vitro and in vivo. Material and methods: Protrusive and laterotrusive movements were simulated in vitro using an articulator (SAM SE) (Group M) and in vivo (Group P) on one test individual. Measurements were carried out in two ways: 1) Measurements were taken after initializing and referencing the system using the reference points (RPs) once, followed by 30 protrusive and laterotrusive movements (M1 and P1); and 2) Thirty individual measurements were recorded using the RPs before each measurement (M2 and P2). Values for the sagittal condylar path inclination angle (sCPIA) and the Bennett angle (BA) were exported and analyzed. The reproducibility of the system was evaluated using the standard deviations (SDs) of the measurement series (sCPIA and BA for M1, M2, P1, and P2). Results: In vitro tests M1 (SD: sCPIA = 0.08 degrees; BA = 0.06 degrees) and M2 (SD: sCPIA = 0.26 degrees; BA = 0.11 degrees) showed significantly higher reproducibility (P 0.001) compared with the in vivo measurements P1 (SD: sCPIA = 0.61 degrees; BA = 0.45 degrees) and P2 (SD: sCPIA = 1.4 degrees; BA = 0.65 degrees). Conclusion: Within the limitations of the present study, the deviation in vitro, representing the reproducibility of the DMD-System, is smaller than the biologic variance observed in vivo. Therefore, reliable measurements under clinical conditions can be assumed. Keywords: axiography, digital workflow, virtual articulator, digital articulator, functional analysis, condylar path inclination angle