Image analysis – Applications – Biomedical applications
Patent
1996-01-11
1999-06-22
Vu, Kim Yen
Image analysis
Applications
Biomedical applications
382280, 382286, G06K 952
Patent
active
059150360
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to the field of non-invasive determination of bone quality of vertebrates. This determination may be used in the diagnosis of, e.g., osteoporosis and other bone diseases which cause bone fragility and, thus, increase the risk of bone fracture.
Accelerated bone loss leading to osteoporosis is a common phenomenon in women after menopause. Women often ignorantly suffer from accelerated bone loss, and the reduced strength of the bones is not discovered until a bone is broken or a vertebra collapses due to a load which a healthy bone or vertebra should be able to withstand. Thus, a large part of the osteoporotic patients are not aware of the reduced strength of their bones until a fracture reveals the disease and the extent thereof.
Today, osteoporosis affects more than one third of elderly women in the industrialized part of the world. The prevalence of this disease is still increasing, partly caused by the increase in the proportion of elderly people, partly for unexplained reasons. In the lesser developed parts of the world, like South-east Asia and South America, it is predicted that osteoporosis will become an enormous socio-economic burden within the next 20-30 years. However, if individuals at risk of developing osteoporosis can be identified, preventive measures can be applied. This requires a reliable, cheap and safe method for identification of those at risk.
Since the risk of osteoporosis is closely related to the bone resistance to fracture, bone strength or bone quality measurements are likely to supply the essential information.
Since the means of preventing osteoporosis are much more efficient than those of treating osteoporosis, identification of individuals at risk of developing this disease is crucial. Only by early prevention of osteoporosis, the individual as well as the socio-economic consequences of the disease may be minimized.
The method according to the invention provides a method for detection of reductions in bone quality, such as architecture and strength, at an early stage. Thus, the method of the invention provides a tool of screening potential patients for bone diseases and, thus, provides the possibility of early detection of bone diseases at a stage in which no symptoms of disease are noted by the patient.
A typical measure of bone strength has been the Bone Mineral Density (BMD) of the bone. BMD measurements are typically obtained by X-ray of a bone together with a standard wedge. Having determined which part of the wedge attenuates the X-ray beam to the same degree as the illuminated bone, a measure of BMD may be obtained.
A more sophisticated method of determining BMD is by X-ray absorptiometry of two different wavelengths. Using two wavelengths enables the method to compensate for the effects of soft tissue etc. around the bone and, thus, to obtain a more exact determination of the X-ray attenuation of the bone.
However, as will be clear from the following, the Bone Mineral Density of a bone is not necessarily connected to the actual strength of the bone. The reason for this is to be found in the structure of a bone of a vertebrate.
A bone of a vertebrate consists of a cortical outer layer and a cancellous inner structure. Omission of the cancellous inner structure of a bone would result in a quite fragile bone. The cancellous inner structure of the bone consists of so-called trabeculae. Thicker vertical trabeculae are positioned in the bone in the direction of the main load (main compression or pull in the bone), and thinner, horizontal trabeculae interconnect the vertical trabeculae.
Thus, the main density of a bone is constituted by the cortical layer and the vertical trabeculae. This is quite natural, as the bone reserves the largest part of the material to withstand the most common loads. A BMD measurement determining the density of a bone will therefore primarily estimate the amount of bone in the cortical layer and the vertical trabeculae and, thus, only to some degree the ability of the bone to withstand the loads to which the bone is ad
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Computer
Conradsen Knut
Fredfeldt Knud Erik
Grunkin Michael
Hyldstrup Lars
Eskofot A/S
Vu Kim Yen
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