The relationship between orthopedic clinical imaging and bone strength prediction

Abstract

Pathologic fracture is caused by bone diseases, which is common in middle-aged and elderly adults. Compromised bone strength is the leading contributor to this type of fracture. Therefore, accurately quantifying bone strength could help clinicians assess individualized fracture risk and develop therapeutic interventions. Orthopedic clinical imaging including dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been an important tool to obtain radiology images of bone, which could be further used for noninvasive assessment of bone strength and related fracture risk. With the development of biomechanics and computer technology, the combination of finite element analysis with orthopedic imaging is the most advanced method for noninvasive prediction of bone strength in clinics. In this review, an overview is provided for the commonly noninvasive methods based on the radiology images (i.e., DXA, CT, and MRI) to predict bone strength, which may improve the understanding of the relationship between orthopedic clinical imaging and biomechanics.

Keywords

• Orthopedic clinical imaging
• Biomechanics
• Bone strength
• Finite element analysis