Change in trabecular architecture as measured by fractal dimension.
The objective of this work was to expose dried trabecular bone material to a decalcifying environment and to quantify the change in the spatial distribution of the bone with a fractal measure. Digitized radiographic images were produced from four separate slices of human vertebral bone as they dissolved within a solution of nitric acid. Pixel data from a region of interest (ROI) within the trabecular bone were used to estimate the time-dependent change in fractal dimension of the ROI as the bone dissolved. Results demonstrated that a change in the spatial distribution of trabecular material may be expressed in terms of a concurrently changing estimate of the fractal dimension.
Berry
J L
JL
Department of Radiology, Bowman Gray School of Medicine, Medical Center Blvd, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USA.
Towers
J D
JD
Webber
R L
RL
Pope
T L
TL
Davidai
G
G
Zimmerman
M
M
D000465:Algorithms; D018775:Bone Demineralization Technique; D003648:Decalcification Technique; D005583:Fourier Analysis; D017709:Fractals; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D016014:Linear Models; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D017942:Nitric Acid; D011856:Radiographic Image Enhancement; D012995:Solubility; D012997:Solvents
D012997:Solvents; D017942:Nitric Acid