Diagnostic imaging in osteoporosis (CT and MRI)

Abstract

Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disease characterized by low bone mass and micro-architectural deterioration of bone tissue, with a consequent increase in bone fragility and susceptibility to fracture risk. In the past decade, considerable progress has been made in the development of methods for assessing the skeleton non-invasively, so that osteoporosis can be managed more effectively. Recently, attention has been focused on deriving measures that provide information about not only bone mineral density but also microstructure. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) are such new techniques which potentially may provide information pertaining to bone density and structure as well as to occult fracture detection. For example, quantitative CT (QCT), peripheral QCT and quantitative MRI are promising tools for the measurements of the bone density. Micro-CT and magnetic resonance microscopy are potentially available tools to image and quantify the three-dimensional structure of trabecular bone. These potentially useful techniques for assessing osteoporosis and predicting fracture risk are reviewed in this paper.