title: Change in trabecular architecture as measured by fractal dimension.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Bowman Gray School of Medicine, Medical Center Blvd, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USA.
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Berry
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Towers
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Webber
authors.forename: T L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Pope
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Davidai
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zimmerman
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D012997:Solvents; D017942:Nitric Acid