[High resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography for the assessment of morphological and mechanical bone...

High resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT) is a new technology commercially available for less than 10 years that allows performing in vivo assessment of bone parameters. HR-pQCT assesses the trabecular thickness, trabecular separation, trabecular number and connectivity density and, in addition, cortical bone density and thickness and total bone volume and density in high-definition mode, which additionally allows obtaining digital constructs of bone microarchitecture. The application of mathematics to captured data, a method called finite element analysis (FEA), allows the estimation of the physical properties of the tissue, simulating supported loads in a non-invasive way. Thus, HR-pQCT simultaneously acquires data previously provided separately by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA), magnetic resonance imaging and histomorphometry, aggregating biomechanical estimates previously only possible in extracted tissues. This method has a satisfactory reproducibility, with coefficients of variation rarely exceeding 3%. Regarding accuracy, the method shows a fair to good agreement (r(2) = 0.37-0.97). The main clinical application of this method is in the quantification and monitoring of metabolic bone disorders, more fully evaluating bone strength and fracture risk. In rheumatoid arthritis patients, this allows gauging the number and size of erosions and cysts, in addition to joint space. In osteoarthritis, it is possible to characterize the bone marrow edema-like areas that show a correlation with cartilage breakdown. Given its high cost, HR-pQCT is still a research tool, but the high resolution and efficiency of this method reveal advantages over the methods currently used for bone assessment, with a potential to become an important tool in clinical practice.