| dc.description.abstract | 3D VISUALISATION OF BONE QUALITY IN OSTEOPOROSIS A. J. Cresswell-Boyes1, D. Mills1, G. R. Davis1, A. Boyde1*. 1. Dental Physical Sciences Imaging Unit, Centre for Oral Bioengineering, Institute of Dentistry, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End campus, London, E1 4NS. Summary This study offers a new insight into the visualisation of bone quality in osteoporosis, by taking 2D research already conducted and comparing it with a 3D approach of 3D printing and virtual reality (VR). Introduction As part of a European Union BIOMED I study “Assessment of Bone Quality in Osteoporosis” [1], 69 lumbar vertebral body specimens (L2) were obtained post-mortem from 32 women and 27 men (aged 24-92 years). The initial study was to establish the variation in density of calcified tissue using quantitative backscattered electron imaging (BSE-SEM). In this study the tissues were imaged using X-ray microtomography (XMT) techniques, to give 3D visualisation to correspond with the BSE-SEM images. The datasets collected from the XMT were converted and edited for the purpose of 3D printing and VR. Methods Initially the parasagittal bone slices were embedded in PMMA and block surfaces micro-milled and carbon coated. Many samples were then re-polished to remove the carbon coating and stained with iodine vapour to allow simultaneous BSE imaging of non-mineralised tissues (disc, annulus, cartilage and ligament) uncoated at 50 Pa chamber pressure. In this study, samples were imaged with 30 μm resolution at 90 kV and 180 μA using the XMT system at Queen Mary (MuCAT2) for approximately 72 hours. The 3D XMT datasets were rendered using Drishti software to produce static and movie images for visualisation and edification. From Drishti, the datasets were converted into meshes, allowing for reconstruction by 3D printing at a 100 μm resolution and for VR visualisation through the open-source site Sketchfab. Results The data selected for 3D printing and VR were all taken from the female sample population and represented the youngest, post-menopausal, oldest, best, worst, and as showing anterior and central compression fractures and anterior collapse with fusion to L3. The most porotic cases were the most difficult to reconstruct for 3D printing. From the data, a large proportion of elderly samples showed excellent bone architecture, though with retention of fewer but more massive load-bearing trabeculae Conclusion The ability to visualise a 3D representation of bone quality and at a larger scale allows a true representation of changes in bone volume fraction and trabecular connectivity in osteoporosis. [1] Boyde A, Jones SJ (1995) Density of mineralisation of lumbar vertebral body trabecular bone (BIOMED 1 samples): digital backscattered electron imaging: interim progress report. Clinical Rheumatology 14: 598 abst. | en_US |
