A simulation study on the effects of the bent length and angle of lightwand: based on the upper airway on computed tomography images / 中国医师进修杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the effects of angle and length of lightwand in three-dimensional reconstruction images of the upper airway based on computed tomography.Methods A total of 245 patients,aged 18-86 years,were scanned by helical computed tomography in the head and neck.Reconstructed images,obtained by Aw4.4 Workstation,were printed out by the ratio of 1 ∶ 1.The tracheal tube was used to investigate the anatomic structure of the upper airway.The length L and angle α of the tracheal tube were recorded.And two distances (D1,D2) and one angle (β) were recorded:D1,the distance between the upper central incisor and root of epiglottis;D2,the distance between the root of epiglottis and midpoint of glottis;angle β,the angle of line D1 and D2.Results The oα value in male patients was significant higher than that in female patients:(70.02 ± 15.49)° vs.(55.84 ± 14.70)°.The β value in male patients was significant higher than that in female patients:(129.74 ± 14.82)° vs.(120.40 ± 14.19)°.The L value in male patients was significant higher than that in female patients:(12.80 ± 0.85) cm vs.(11.50 ± 0.65) cm.The D1 and D2value in male patients were significant higher than those in female patients:(7.53 ± 0.66) cm vs.(6.76 ± 0.53) cm,(3.13 ± 0.52) cm vs.(2.45 ± 0.32) cm.There were significant differences (P ＜ 0.05).The 245 patients were classified to 2 groups by using the function of hierarchical cluster analysis in the statistical software.The α value in group 2 was significant higher than that in group 1:(75.45 ± 9.53)° vs.(48.17 ± 9.29)°.The 3 value in group 2 was significant higher than that in group 1:(136.27 ± 9.86)° vs.(112.31 ± 8.64)°.The age in group 2 was significant higher than that in group 1:(53.92 ± 19.64) years vs.(36.93 ± 17.21) years.Correlation analysis showed that in 245 patients,angle α was positively correlated to angle β and age (P ＜ 0.05),and angle β was positively correlated to age (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions The bent length and angle on lightwand can be affected by both the patients' gender and ages.