[Comparative study of cone-beam CT and spiral CT in measuring the length of styloid process].

Objective To compare the difference of measuring the length of styloid process between spiral CT with high resolution and cone-beam CT(CBCT). Methods Five specimens (including 5 pairs of styloid processes) were selected randomly from the Anatomy Laboratory of Otolaryngology Department, all the specimens underwent spiral CT with high resolution and cone-beam CT retrospectively.With the original DICOM data, the styloid processes were shown in one plate by multiple plate reconstruction technique, and later the length of styloid processes of each specimen were measured separately by software NNT Viewer (to CBCT) or Osrix (to spiral CT with high resolution). Results The length of styloid processes measured by CBCT and spiral CT was (26.8±5.5) mm and (27.1±5.4) mm respectively, and there was no statistical difference between the two groups. Conclusion In respect of measuring the length of styloid process, the CBCT has the same value in clinical practice comparing to spiral CT with high resolution. Key words: Cone-beam computer tomography; Tomography, X-ray computed; Styloid process; Length