Variability in three-dimensional measurements of back contour with raster stereography in normal subjects

Forty normal children with a mean age of 9.1 years were investigated by using a Quantec Spinal Image System (QSIS). The QSIS uses computerized raster stereography technology to acquire three-dimensional measurements of back contour. Within a 95-percentile confidence interval (a) coronal-plane QSIS angles ranged from 0.05 to 2.36 degrees; (b) transverse-plane QSIS angles ranged from 0.03 to 1.96 degrees; and (c) sagittal-plane QSIS angles ranged from 36.8 to 44.8 degrees. Trunk-alignment deviation ranged from 3.51 to 7.45 mm within a 95-percentile confidence interval. An intraobserver standard deviation of +/-4.2 degrees was noted across all angular metrics. Normal ranges of QSIS-determined values for a population of 40 children without clinical evidence of pathology are reported.