title: Quantitative computed tomography for spinal mineral assessment:  current status.
abstract: Quantitative CT (QCT) is an established method for the noninvasive assessment of bone mineral content in the vertebral spongiosum and other anatomic locations.  The potential strengths of QCT relative to dual photon absorptiometry (DPA) are its capability for precise three-dimensional anatomic localization providing a direct density measurement and its capability for spatial separation of highly responsive cancellous bone from less responsive cortical bone.  The extraction of this quantitative information from the CT image, however, requires sophisticated calibration and positioning techniques and careful technical monitoring.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University of California at San Francisco 94143, USA.
authors.forename: H K
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Genant
authors.forename: C E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Cann
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ettinger
authors.forename: G S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Gordan
authors.forename: F O
authors.initials: FO
authors.lastname: Kolb
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Reiser
authors.forename: C D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Arnaud
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015519:Bone Density / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013131:Spine / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000639:trends*