title: A characterization of the geometric architecture of the peritalar joint complex via MRI: an aid to the classification of foot type.
abstract: The purpose of this work is to study the architecture of the rearfoot using in vivo MR image data. Each data set used in this study is made of sixty sagittal slices of the foot acquired in a 1.5-T commercial GE MR system. We use the live-wire method to delineate boundaries and form the surfaces of the bones. In the first part of this work, we describe a new method to characterize the three-dimensional (3-D) relationships of four bones of the peritalar complex and apply this description technique to data sets from ten normal subjects and from seven pathological cases. In the second part, we propose a procedure to classify feet, based on the values of these new architectural parameters. We conclude that this noninvasive method offers a unique tool to characterize the 3-D architecture of the feet in live patients, based on a set of new architectural parameters. This can be integrated into a set of tools to improve diagnosis and treatment of foot malformations.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Traitement de l'Information Médicale (EA 2218) Centre Hospitalo-Universitaire de Brest, Université de Bretagne Occidentale, France.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Stindel
authors.forename: J K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Udupa
authors.forename: B E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Hirsch
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Odhner
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D005528:Foot / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005530:Foot Deformities / Q000145:classification / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D013639:Tarsal Bones / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D013640:Tarsal Joints / Q000033:anatomy & histology*