Measurement of trabecular bone thickness in the limited resolution regime of in vivo MRI by fuzzy distance transform

Punam K Saha; Felix W Wehrli

doi:10.1109/TMI.2003.819925

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Measurement of trabecular bone thickness in the limited resolution regime of in vivo MRI by fuzzy distance transform

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Measurement of trabecular bone thickness in the limited resolution regime of in vivo MRI by fuzzy distance transform

Punam K Saha and Felix W Wehrli

IEEE transactions on medical imaging, Vol.23(1), pp.53-62

01/2004

DOI: 10.1109/TMI.2003.819925

PMID: 14719687

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Abstract

Trabecular or cancellous bone, the type of bone found in the vertebrae and near the joints of long bones, consists of a network of plates and struts. Accurate measurement of trabecular thickness is of significant interest, for example, to assess the effectiveness of anabolic (bone forming) agents of patients with osteoporosis. Here, we introduce a new fuzzy distance transform (FDT)-based thickness computation method that obviates binary segmentation and that can effectively deal with images acquired at a voxel size comparable to the typical trabecular bone thickness. The method's robustness is shown on the basis of micro-CT images of human trabecular bone, resampled at progressively coarser resolution and after application of rotation and addition of noise as a means to simulate the in vivo situation. Reproducibility of the method is demonstrated with micro-CT images by comparing histograms of thickness within and between data sets and with micro-MRI volume data sets of human volunteers imaged repeatedly. Finally, with in vivo micro-MR images from a prior study in rabbits subjected to corticosteroid exposure, it is demonstrated that short-term treatment resulting in trabecular thinning can be quantified with the new method.

Femur - anatomy & histology

Rabbits

Reproducibility of Results

Bone and Bones - physiology

Bone Density - physiology

Humans

Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted - methods

Imaging, Three-Dimensional - methods

Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods

Femur - drug effects

Bone and Bones - drug effects

Femur - physiology

Bone and Bones - anatomy & histology

Algorithms

Animals

Dexamethasone - pharmacology

Sensitivity and Specificity

Phantoms, Imaging

Fuzzy Logic

Details

Title: Subtitle: Measurement of trabecular bone thickness in the limited resolution regime of in vivo MRI by fuzzy distance transform
Creators: Punam K Saha - Medical Image Processing Group, Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, Fourth Floor, Blockley Hall, 423 Guardian Drive, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6021, USA. saha@mipg.upenn.edu
Felix W Wehrli
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: IEEE transactions on medical imaging, Vol.23(1), pp.53-62
DOI: 10.1109/TMI.2003.819925
PMID: 14719687
NLM abbreviation: IEEE Trans Med Imaging
ISSN: 0278-0062
eISSN: 1558-254X
Publisher: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers; United States
Grant note: R21 47 112 / PHS HHS R01 41 443 / PHS HHS
Language: English
Date published: 01/2004
Academic Unit: Radiology; Electrical and Computer Engineering
Record Identifier: 9984051741302771

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