Affiliations: Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University of Zurich and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Moussonstrasse 18, CH-8044 Zurich, Switzerland
Correspondence:
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Address for correspondence: Dr. Ralph Muller, Institute for Biomedical Engineering, Moussonstrasse 18, CH-8044 Zurich/Switzerland. Tel.: +41 1 6324597; Fax: +41 1 632 1214.
Abstract: Micro-computed tomography (μCT) is an emerging technique for the non-destructive assessment and analysis of the three-dimensional cancellous bone architecture. However, the procedures and applications used to quantify bone structures are not yet standardized. The aim of this study was to provide more insight in the resolution-dependency of microstructural properties of three-dimensional trabecular bone. Ten iliac crest bone biopsies were measured using a newly devised μCT system providing a nominal isotropic resolution of 14 μm. To study the resolution dependency, the measured data were reconstructed on reduced image arrays with reduction factors ranging from 2 to 20. To assess the structural properties, morphometric parameters were computed based on a truly three-dimensional approach. The results showed a strong resolution dependency of the structural properties and that, if very precise results are needed, only the highest resolution will predict the correct values. Nevertheless, since the properties either decrease or increase monotonously up to a nominal resolution of about 175 μm, the values appear to be restorable using a suitable calibration procedure.
Keywords: Micro-computed tomography (μCT), trabecular bone architecture, quantitative bone morphology, 3D structural analysis, image resolution
