Bone Image Analysis: Quantifying Topological Change in Bone Under Uniform Erosion

The evaluation of topological changes in the trabecular bone region provides insight into how trabecular bone protects itself against the effects of osteopenia induced degeneration and may provide essentials for fracture risk assessment at an early time point. Based on high resolution digital images obtained using micro computed tomography (μCT), a mathematical erosion model has been developed that enables the analysis of the relationship between virtual bone loss generated by mathematical erosions and the bone’s structural alteration during progressive bone loss. The results dem onstrate that erosion induced stresses are relieved through the preferential production of holes over breaks in the trabeculae. In our sheep femur, the ratio of holes:breaks varies from 1.5 to 2.0. It is higher for isotropic and bidirectional erosions than for unidirectional erosions. For human calcaneus the ratio falls to 1 to 1.5 in four of the five erosion types. For the most osteoporotic sample, breaks are produced at essentially the same frequency as holes. Trabecular bone appears constructed so that such preferential relief is able to continue down to extremely eroded forms of the structure. Further, for each measure, topological changes occur at 20% higher normalized densities. It indicates that trabecular structure is better protected against isotropic rather than unidirectional erosive action.

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Year

Entry

1996

Rüegsegger P, Koller B, Müller R. A microtomographic system for the nondestructive evaluation of bone architecture. Calcif Tiss Int. 1996;58(1):24-29.

1987

Lorensen WE, Cline HE. Marching cubes: a high resolution 3D surface construction algorithm. Comput Graph. 1987;21(4):163-169.

1994

Guilak F. Volume and surface area measurement of viable chondrocytes in situ using geometric modelling of serial confocal sections. J Microsc (Oxford). March 1994;173(3):245-256.

2002

Guo XE, Kim CH. Mechanical consequence of trabecular bone loss and its treatment: a three-dimensional model simulation. Bone. February 2002;30(2):404-411.

1974

Whitehouse WJ. The quantitative morphology of anisotropic trabecular bone. J Microsc (Oxford). July 1974;101:153-168.