In Vivo Analysis of Trabecular Bone Architecture

Trabecular morphology has structural trends which are strongly correlated with physical function. In vivo analysis of the trabecular pattern has the potential to predict and treat malgrowth of bone owing to altered loading conditions in an early phase. Using multiscale texture analysis we determine the orientation trend of the trabecular network from CT images. First studies show that the obtained orientations in healthy individuals agree with histomorphometric studies. In vivo analysis of trabecular microstructure, to monitor development and progress of bone diseases as e.g. osteoporosis, is severely limited since high resolution CT and MR systems achieve at best resolutions in the order of the size of individual trabeculae.