Overview
Osteoporosis involves a gradual loss of bone mass and deterioration of bone architecture, resulting in increasing bone fragility and susceptibility to fractures. Current assessment of osteoporosis is based on bone densitometry techniques such as quantitative computed tomography (QCT) and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA).
- Research leader
- Organisational unit
- Lead unit Science and Engineering Faculty
- Research area
- Physics
Professor Christian LangtonDetails
We have investigated the use of Magnetic Resonance (MR) micro-imaging in the assessment of trabecular bone architecture in the rat (Fig. 1).
Osteoporosis involves a gradual loss of bone mass and deterioration of bone architecture, resulting in increasing bone fragility and susceptibility to fractures. Current assessment of osteoporosis is based on bone densitometry techniques such as quantitative computed tomography (QCT) and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA).
However, bone mineral density (BMD), the traditional measure of bone strength, is not the sole determinant of the mechanical properties of cancellous bone. Accurate quantification of bone architecture is central to understanding bone metabolic diseases such as osteoporosis, because changes in trabecular morphology play an important role in determining bone strength and trabecular bone mechanics. It is now known that BMD explains only 70% of the variance in stiffness of the human femur and tibia bones. This new understanding of the role of the micro-architecture in determining bone strength has stimulated a search for other predictors of cancellous bone strength, including predictors based on measures of trabecular bone morphology.
We have investigated the use of Magnetic Resonance (MR) micro-imaging in the assessment of trabecular bone architecture in the rat (Fig. 1).
The proportion of haemopoietic to fatty marrow is believed to reflect bone remodelling capacity. Hence the development of techniques for assessing bone marrow composition non-invasively using image-guided MR spectroscopy.
