title: A comparison of skeletal chord-length distributions in the adult male.
abstract: In radiation protection, skeletal dose estimates are required for the tissues of the hematopoietically active bone marrow and the osteogenic cells of the trabecular and cortical endosteum. Similarly, skeletal radiation dose estimates are required in therapy nuclear medicine in order to develop dose-response functions for myelotoxicity where active bone marrow is generally the dose-limiting organ in cancer radioimmunotherapy. At the present time, skeletal dose models in both radiation protection and medical dosimetry are fundamentally reliant on a single set of chord-length distribution measurements performed at the University of Leeds in the late 1970's for a 44-y-old male subject. These distributions describe the relative frequency at which linear pathlengths are seen across both the marrow cavities and bone trabeculae in seven individual bone sites: vertebrae (cervical and lumbar), proximal femur (head and neck), ribs, cranium (parietal bone), and pelvis (iliac crest). In the present study, we present an alternative set of chord-length distribution data acquired within a total of 14 skeletal sites of a 66-y-old male subject. The University of Florida (UF) distributions are assembled via 3D image processing of microCT scans of physical sections of trabecular spongiosa at each skeletal site. In addition, a tri-linear interpolation Marching Cube algorithm is employed to smooth the digital surfaces of the bone trabeculae while chord-length measurements are performed. A review of mean chord lengths indicate that larger marrow cavities are noted on average in the UF individual for the cervical vertebrae (1,038 vs. 910 microm), lumbar vertebrae (1,479 vs. 1,233 microm), ilium (1,508 vs. 904 microm), and parietal bone (812 vs. 389 microm), while smaller marrow cavities are noted in the UF individual for the femoral head (1,043 microm vs. 1,157 microm), the femoral neck (1,454 microm vs. 1,655 microm), and the ribs (1,630 microm vs. 1,703 microm). The mean chord-lengths for the bone trabeculae show close agreement for both individuals in the ilium (approximately 240 microm) and cervical vertebrae (approximately 280 microm). Thicker trabeculae were seen on average in the UF individual for the femoral head (ratio of 1.50), femoral neck (ratio of 1.10), lumbar vertebrae (ratio of 1.29), and ribs (ratio of 1.14), while thinner trabeculae were seen on average in the UF individual for the parietal bone of the cranium (ratio of 0.92). In two bone sites, prominent discrepancies in chord distribution shape were noted between the Leeds 44-y-old male and the UF 66-y-old male: (1) the bone trabeculae in the ribs, and (2) the marrow cavities and bone trabeculae within the cranium.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-8300, USA.
authors.forename: Amish P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.forename: Didier A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Rajon
authors.forename: Derek W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Jokisch
authors.forename: Phillip W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Patton
authors.forename: Wesley E
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Bolch
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000473:pathology / Q000528:radiation effects; D005272:Femur Neck / Q000473:pathology / Q000528:radiation effects; D006257:Head / Q000473:pathology / Q000528:radiation effects; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009141:Musculoskeletal System / Q000473:pathology / Q000528:radiation effects*; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011874:Radiometry / Q000379:methods*; D011880:Radiotherapy Planning, Computer-Assisted; D012272:Ribs / Q000473:pathology / Q000528:radiation effects; D013131:Spine / Q000473:pathology / Q000528:radiation effects