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Updated: Oct 18, 2026
Software-Assisted Quantitative Measurement of Osteoarthritic Subchondral Bone Thickness
Published on: March 18, 2022
Regional depth-specific subchondral bone density in osteoarthritic and normal distal femora: In vivo precision and
J D Johnston1, A E Sacher2, C E McLennan3
1Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada; Division of Biomedical Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada.
Objective:
To test the in vivo precision of regional and focal bone mineral density (BMD) measures in normal and osteoarthritic (OA) distal femora.
Design:
Fourteen participants (3:11 male:female; mean age: 49.9 (standard deviation: 11.9) years) were recruited and classified as normal (n = 7) or OA (n = 7). Each participant was scanned three times over two days using clinical quantitative computed tomography. Two BMD assessments were evaluated at the distal femur: mean regional and peak focal densities. BMD measures were assessed across three depths (0-2.5, 2.5-5, 5-7.5 mm) and six sub-regions of the distal femur (medial/lateral, anterior/central/posterior). We assessed precision using root mean square coefficients of variation (CV%RMS). To explore potential differences between OA and normal distal femora, we performed parametric t-tests and non-parametric Mann-Whitney statistical analyses and also determined Cohen's d effect sizes.
Results:
CV%RMS ranged from 1.6% to 3.6% (average: 2.2%) for measures of regional BMD while CV%RMS ranged from 1.6% to 6.9% (average: 2.7%) for measures of focal BMD. Statistical comparisons indicated lower BMD in OA distal femoral in the medial-anterior region at depths of 2.5-5 mm (regional:18%; focal:19%) and 5-7.5 mm (regional:23%; focal:25%). All other BMD measures were similar between normal and OA distal femora (p > 0.05). Cohen's d effect sizes ranged from -1.8 to 0.76.
Conclusions:
This technique offers precise measures of subchondral BMD at the distal femur. This approach has the potential to quantify and distinguish OA-related alterations in subchondral BMD at the distal femur.
