Comparison of different microCT-based morphology assessment tools using human trabecular bone.

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Orthopedics
• Materials Science

Background:

• Microcomputed tomography (MicroCT) is vital for assessing bone structure.
• Quantitative morphological parameters derived from MicroCT are essential for understanding bone health and disease.
• Comparability of results from different software tools for MicroCT analysis remains largely unexamined.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the comparability of trabecular bone morphological parameters calculated by four different software tools.
• To identify potential discrepancies in quantitative bone analysis across various software platforms.
• To highlight the impact of software choice on the reliability of MicroCT-derived bone metrics.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 701 human trabecular bone MicroCT image datasets.
• Evaluation of key bone parameters: bone volume to total volume (BV/TV), bone surface (BS), trabecular thickness (Tb.Th.), and degree of anisotropy (DA).
• Comparative assessment of results obtained from four distinct MicroCT analysis software packages.

Main Results:

• Bone volume to total volume (BV/TV) showed minimal differences (-0.18 ± 0.15%).
• Bone surface (BS) differences were below 5% when excluding artificial cut surfaces.
• Trabecular thickness (Tb.Th.) and trabecular separation (Tb.Sp.) exhibited maximal differences of -12%.
• Degree of anisotropy (DA) demonstrated substantial variability, with differences ranging up to 80.52 ± 50.04% between software.

Conclusions:

• Significant discrepancies exist in MicroCT-based trabecular bone morphometry, particularly for degree of anisotropy.
• Quantitative bone analysis results should be interpreted with caution when comparing data from different studies or software.
• Standardization of algorithms and transparent reporting of software implementations are necessary to improve the consistency and comparability of MicroCT findings.