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A Sectioning, Coring, and Image Processing Guide for High-Throughput Cortical Bone Sample Procurement and Analysis for Synchrotron Micro-CT
Published on: June 12, 2020
Advanced imaging of the macrostructure and microstructure of bone
H K Genant1, C Gordon, Y Jiang
1Osteoporosis and Arthritis Research Group, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, Calif., 94143-0628, USA.
Hormone Research
|January 9, 2001
Summary
Advanced imaging techniques offer detailed bone macro- and microstructural insights beyond standard bone densitometry. These methods improve fracture risk assessment by quantifying bone architecture, though technical and clinical challenges persist.
Area of Science:
- Orthopedics and Biomedical Imaging
- Skeletal Biology and Biomechanics
Background:
- Standard bone densitometry offers limited insight into bone strength, which is only partially explained by bone mineral density.
- Noninvasive and nondestructive techniques provide macro- and microstructural bone information, crucial for a comprehensive assessment of fracture risk.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review advanced noninvasive/nondestructive imaging techniques for quantitative assessment of bone macro- and microstructural features.
- To discuss the technical and clinical challenges and merits of various bone imaging modalities.
Main Methods:
- Quantitative Computed Tomography (QCT) and volumetric QCT (vQCT) for macrostructure.
- High-resolution CT (hrCT), micro-CT (muCT), high-resolution MR (hrMR), and micro-MR (muMR) for microstructure.
- Distinguishing between in vivo (vQCT, hrCT, hrMR) and in vitro (muCT, muMR) applications.
Main Results:
- Significant progress in noninvasive bone imaging, yet challenges in resolution, sampling, signal-to-noise, radiation dose, and acquisition time remain.
- Technical trade-offs exist between equipment complexity/cost and accessibility.
- In vitro methods offer higher resolution but are invasive; in vivo methods are noninvasive but have lower resolution.
Conclusions:
- Balancing advanced imaging with clinical needs requires careful consideration of diagnostic accuracy versus monitoring precision.
- Further research is needed to address skeletal site variability and optimize imaging protocols for diverse clinical applications.
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