Characterization of bone & cartilage endplate junction in the human lumbar spine: novel ultrastructural insights & association with elemental composition, vascularity and degeneration.

Objective: Intervertebral disc (IVD)-related pathology is associated with integrity of cartilaginous endplate (CEP), bony endplate (BEP) and their junction. However, ultrastructural details of the CEP, BEP and IVD and their interplay with disc degenerative features such as fissures and calcification are understudied. The current study aimed to ultra structurally explore CEP-BEP junction to IVD features.

Patient-Specific Distal Femoral Guides Optimize Cartilage Topography Matching in Osteochondral Allograft Transplantations.

Background: Osteochondral allograft (OCA) transplantation is an important surgical technique for full-thickness chondral defects in the knee. For patients undergoing this procedure, topography matching between the donor and recipient sites is essential to limit premature wear of the OCA. Currently, there is no standardized process of donor and recipient graft matching.

Ulnar Bowing and Distal Radioulnar Joint Anatomy: A Three-Dimensional, Clinical Assessment.

Purpose: Distal radioulnar joint (DRUJ) injuries can be devastating and challenging to manage. The multiplanar curvature exhibited by the ulna impacts the morphology of the DRUJ, making it difficult to assess through two-dimensional radiographs alone. We used full-length, three-dimensional (3D) computed tomography angiography scans to assess the relationship between ulnar bowing, DRUJ ulnar variance (UV), and sigmoid notch angle.

3.0T magnetic resonance imaging-based hip bone models for femoroacetabular impingement syndrome are equivalent to computed tomography-based models.

This study aimed to compare three-dimensional (3D) proximal femoral and acetabular surface models generated from 3.0T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to the clinical gold standard of computed tomography (CT). Ten intact fresh-frozen cadaveric hips underwent CT and 3.

Clinical three-dimensional anatomy of the femur considering navigation-aided surgery of total knee arthroplasty in Japanese patients.

Purpose: Few studies exist regarding sagittal alignment describing femur morphology in navigation-aided surgery. This study investigated the three-dimensional (3D) sagittal femoral alignment of the whole femur.

Methods: Seventy-three consecutive patients (59 females, 14 males, mean age: 76.

Spontaneous Closure of Congenital Cranial Defect: Is Early Surgical Intervention Warranted?

Infantile cranial development typically occurs in a predictable sequence of events; however, less is known about how the development occurs in isolated, nonsyndromic congenital craniofacial anomalies. Furthermore, the timing of pediatric cranioplasty has been extrapolated from adult studies. Thus, the management of nonsyndromic congenital craniofacial anomalies presents with unique challenges to the craniofacial surgeon.

Noninvasive shape-fitting method quantifies cam morphology in femoroacetabular impingement syndrome: Implications for diagnosis and surgical planning.

There are considerable limitations associated with the standard 2D imaging currently used for the diagnosis and surgical planning of cam-type femoroacetabular impingement syndrome (FAIS). The aim of this study was to determine the accuracy of a new patient-specific shape-fitting method that quantifies cam morphology in 3D based solely on preoperative MRI imaging. Preoperative and postoperative 1.

Corrosion Behavior of Selective Laser Melting (SLM) Manufactured Ti6Al4V Alloy in Saline and BCS Solution.

The frequency of surgeries involving the use of metal implants in orthopedic medicine to replace degenerative or fractured joints is increasing, and it is therefore important to optimize the lifespan and quality of these implants. Advances in additive manufacturing (AM), or 3D printing, are creating new opportunities to personalize implants in ways that reduce mechanical stress at the joint implant interface and improve bone ingrowth and implant stability; however, it is not well understood if and to what degree the AM process alters the corrosion behavior of the materials it produces. In this study, six Ti6Al4V prints manufactured via a selective laser melting (SLM) method were examined regarding their corrosion behavior in both saline and bovine calf serum (BCS) solutions.

Four-dimensional computed tomography evaluation of shoulder joint motion in collegiate baseball pitchers.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the glenohumeral contact area, center of glenohumeral contact area, and center of humeral head during simulated pitching motion in collegiate baseball pitchers using four-dimensional computed tomography (4D CT). We obtained 4D CT data from the dominant and non-dominant shoulders of eight collegiate baseball pitchers during the cocking motion. CT image data of each joint were reconstructed using a 3D reconstruction software package.

Artificial intelligence and spine imaging: limitations, regulatory issues and future direction.

Background: As big data and artificial intelligence (AI) in spine care, and medicine as a whole, continue to be at the forefront of research, careful consideration to the quality and techniques utilized is necessary. Predictive modeling, data science, and deep analytics have taken center stage. Within that space, AI and machine learning (ML) approaches toward the use of spine imaging have gathered considerable attention in the past decade.

Computed Tomography Osteoabsorptiometry Evaluation of Cervical Endplate Subchondral Bone Mineral Density.

Study Design: Basic Science.

Objective: Poor subchondral bone mineral density (sBMD) has been linked with subsidence of cervical interbody devices or grafts, which are traditionally placed centrally on the endplates. Considering that sBMD reflects long-term stress distributions, we hypothesize that the cervical uncovertebral joints are denser than the central endplate region.

Regional distribution of computed tomography attenuation across the lumbar endplate.

The vertebral endplate forms a structural boundary between intervertebral disc and the trabecular bone of the vertebral body. As a mechanical interface between the stiff bone and resilient disc, the endplate is the weakest portion of the vertebral-disc complex and is predisposed to mechanical failure. However, the literature concerning the bone mineral density (BMD) distribution within the spinal endplate is comparatively sparse.

CT Osteoabsorptiometry Assessment of Subchondral Bone Density Predicts Intervertebral Implant Subsidence in a Human ACDF Cadaver Model.

Study Design: Cadaveric biomechanics study.

Objective: Subchondral bone mineral density (sBMD) reflects the long-term mineralization and distribution of stress on joints. The use of 3-dimensional (3-D) methods to evaluate sBMD, including computed tomography osteoabsorptiometry (CT-OAM), enables the assessment of density distribution with emphasis on subchondral bone.

Cervical endplate bone density distribution measured by CT osteoabsorptiometry and direct comparison with mechanical properties of the endplate.

Purpose: Intervertebral device subsidence is one of the complications of anterior cervical discectomy and fusion. The biomechanical properties of vertebral bony endplate may be related to device subsidence. The aim of this study is to measure the cervical endplate bone density distribution using a novel 3D measurement method.

Micro-computed tomography analysis of the lumbar pedicle wall.

Background: Although the pedicle is routinely used as a surgical fixation site, the pedicle wall bone area fraction (bone area per unit area) and its distribution at the isthmus of the pedicle remain unknown. The bone area fraction at the pedicle isthmus is an important factor contributing to the strength of pedicle screw constructs. This study investigates the lumbar pedicle wall microstructure based on micro-computed tomography.

MRI-- and CT--based metrics for the quantification of arthroscopic bone resections in femoroacetabular impingement syndrome.

The purpose of this in vitro study was to quantify the bone resected from the proximal femur during hip arthroscopy using metrics generated from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) reconstructed three-dimensional (3D) bone models. Seven cadaveric hemi-pelvises underwent both a 1.5 T MRI and CT scan before and following an arthroscopic proximal femoral osteochondroplasty.

Three-dimensional distribution of CT attenuation in the lumbar spine pedicle wall.

This study investigated in vivo the three-dimensional distribution of CT attenuation in the lumbar spine pedicle wall measured in Hounsfield Unit (HU). Seventy-five volunteers underwent clinical lumbar spine CT scans. Data was analyzed with custom-written software to determine the regional variation in pedicle wall attenuation values.

Computed Tomography-Based Three-Dimensional Analyses Show Similarities in Anterosuperior Acetabular Coverage Between Acetabular Dysplasia and Borderline Dysplasia.

Purpose: (1) To compare the acetabular coverage between dysplasia, borderline dysplasia, and control acetabulum in a quantitative 3-dimensional manner; and (2) to evaluate correlations between the radiologic parameters and the 3-dimensional zonal-acetabular coverage.

Methods: We reviewed contralateral hip computed tomography images of patients 16 to 60 years of age who underwent 1 of 3 types of surgeries: eccentric rotational acetabular osteotomy, curved intertrochanteric varus osteotomy, and total hip replacement with minimum 1-year follow-up from January 2013 to April 2018. A point-cloud model of the acetabulum created from computed tomography was divided into 6 zones.

Assessment of Hip Translation In Vivo in Patients With Femoracetabular Impingement Syndrome Using 3-Dimensional Computed Tomography.

Purpose: To determine the 3-dimensional (3D) in vivo hip translation in patients with symptomatic femoroacetabular impingement syndrome (FAIS) using 3D computed tomography (CT) models with the hip in neutral and FABER (flexion, abduction, and the external rotation) positions and to identify patient predictors associated with the degree of hip translation.

Methods: Seventy-eight patients with FAIS and cam lesions underwent CT scans in neutral and FABER positions. Demographics including age, sex, and body mass index (BMI) were recorded for each patient.

Evaluation of Statistical Shape Modeling in Quantifying Femoral Morphologic Differences Between Symptomatic and Nonsymptomatic Hips in Patients with Unilateral Femoroacetabular Impingement Syndrome.

Purpose: To determine whether statistical shape modeling can detect subtle morphologic differences in the shape of the proximal femur that correlate with clinical findings of unilateral femoroacetabular impingement syndrome.

Methods: Patients who had diagnoses of unilateral femoroacetabular impingement syndrome and who had existing computed tomography scans of their pelvises were included. Three-dimensional shape models in the form of triangle meshes were generated from the computed tomography images.

Image-Based Markers Predict Dynamic Instability in Lumbar Degenerative Spondylolisthesis.

Objective: To identify possible radiographic predictors markers of dynamic instability including disc height (DH), disc degeneration, and spondylosis in the setting of degenerative spondylolisthesis (DS).

Methods: A retrospective review with prospectively collected data was performed on 125 patients with L4-5 DS who underwent decompression and fusion. Patients were divided into groups with dynamic instability and those without.