Magnetic resonance image texture analysis of the lateral pterygoid muscle in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a preliminary report

Objectives: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is useful for assessing temporomandibular disorders (TMDs). However, few studies have attempted texture analysis of the lateral pterygoid muscle in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). This study aims to investigate the usefulness of MRI texture analysis of the lateral pterygoid muscle of patients with RA of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). Methods: We analyzed the data from 36 patients (18 non-RA patients and 18 RA patients) who complained of pain and underwent MRI between April 2008 and August 2021. From the MRI scans of these patients, 279 radiomics features were extracted using STIR image data of the ROIs on the lateral pterygoid muscle of patients with RA and analyzed using MaZda ver. 3.3. Seven gray-level co-occurrence matrix features (Sum entropy, Sum variance) were picked up using the Fisher coefficient, for comparison between the RA and non-RA groups. Data analysis was performed using the Mann–Whitney U test A P value of < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: All seven lateral pterygoid muscle radiomic features indicated significant differences between the non-RA and RA groups (P < 0.05). Conclusion: MRI texture analysis shows potential for application in radiomics diagnosis of RA in TMJ.