Research Of Spine Bone Mineral Density Measurement Method Based On Data Of 3d Ct Images

A fully 3D image analysis method is presented in this paper. It provides measurements of bone mineral density (BMD) and parameter of bone structure of spine. It is an approach to 3D quantitative computerized tomography (QCT) and makes 3D image analysis and processing available.The most important risk factor for the prediction of fractures is low bone mineral density. The method analyses CT image of spine. The segmentation of periosteal and endosteal surfaces are both integrated and performed in an automatic fashion. Several volume of interests (VOIs) are defined for the measurements of BMD, bone mineral content (BMC), volume, and cortical thickness of spine. It outputs all the results in an excel and a report for doctor at last.The method is PC based and compatible with any digital imaging and communications in medicine (DICOM) enabled scanner. Veracity experiment indicates that the BMD result of the method is highly related with that of DXA and the correlation coefficient is above 0.8; repeatability experiment demonstrates that the method is of high precision and independent on operations. Low dosage experiment shows that when the mAs settings is decreased by 40% of routine, the method can work normally and the result is consistent with that of DXA.The method is highly automated, fast, robust to noise, and requires only minor user interaction. It can help doctor get the degree of osteoporosis and risk of fracture quickly and really. The analysis results show promising characteristics for clinical use: high reproducibility and independence of observers.