A Micro-computed Tomography Database and Reference Implementation for Parallel Computations of Trabecular Thickness and Spacing

Thi-Ngoc-Thu Nguyen,Felix Gremse,Stefanie Rosenhain,Andreas Höfter,Kevin Leonardic,Wannida Sae-Tang,Uwe Naumann,Fabian Kiessling

doi:10.5334/jors.360

Abstract

We provide a well-defined accurate brute force implementation without approximations as a reference to support future development of correct and fast algorithms to measure the trabecular thickness and spacing. Using artificial ellipsoid examples, the systematic error is shown to be related to the voxelization, which can be reduced by upsampling. Furthermore, we collected a database of 40 three-dimensional micro-computed tomography images of trabecular bone regions of a sheep femur. With the coverage of a broad range of trabecular thickness and spacing, the database is suitable for assessing the correctness of algorithms for the measurements of trabecular thickness and spacing. The bone data is shared publicly in the online repository ‘Figshare’ and the brute force code is freely available in Code Ocean. Scientists are encouraged to implement faster algorithms, e.g., graphic processing unit-accelerated, with accurate or controlled approximate behaviour to compute trabecular thickness and spacing. Especially, the provided data can be re-employed together with the reference algorithm to evaluate their accuracies.

Highlights

Trabecular bone is a region of bone with a spongy, honeycomb-like structure
Standardization of trabecular thickness measurement is of paramount importance, trabecular thickness should be computed by a well-defined procedure
We present a database of μCT bone images of a sheep femur as well as a simple reference brute force implementation for accurate trabecular thickness and spacing computations, which is derived from the volume-based thickness concept of Hildebrand and Rüegsegger

Summary

Introduction

Trabecular bone is a region of bone with a spongy, honeycomb-like structure. Analysis of trabecular bone provides important information to accurately characterize bone tissue, helping in researching bone diseases and investigating the progress of bone formation. We present a database of μCT bone images of a sheep femur as well as a simple reference brute force implementation for accurate trabecular thickness and spacing computations, which is derived from the volume-based thickness concept of Hildebrand and Rüegsegger.

Results

Conclusion