title: Imaging of trabecular bone structure.
abstract: In addition to bone mass, trabecular bone architecture is an important entity in assessing bone fragility, which is crucial in the diagnosis of osteoporosis. A number of imaging techniques have been used to analyze bone structure noninvasively. Projection radiography has been used with good results in the peripheral skeleton; however, this is only a two-dimensional technique, which reflects trabecular bone structure to a certain extent. High-resolution tomographic techniques, such as high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography (CT), have a limited spatial resolution but the potential to image three-dimensional architecture of trabecular bone. With the advances in magnetic resonance hardware and software and new CT techniques (i.e., multislice spiral CT and clinical micro-CT), noninvasive imaging of trabecular bone is becoming more feasible.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Ismaninger Strasse 22, D-81675 Munich, Germany. tmlink@roe.med.tu-muenchen.de
authors.forename: Thomas M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Link
authors.forename: Jan S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Bauer
mesh_terms: D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D010024:Osteoporosis / Q000175:diagnosis; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed