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Title: TH-A-18C-02: An Electrostatic Model for Assessment of Joint Space Morphology in Cone-Beam CT

Abstract

Purpose: High-resolution cone-beam CT (CBCT) of the extremities presents a potentially valuable basis for image-based biomarkers of arthritis, trauma, and risk of injury. We present a new method for 3D joint space analysis that exploits the high isotropic spatial resolution of CBCT and is sensitive to small changes in disease-related morphology. Methods: The approach uses an “electrostatic” model in which joint surfaces (e.g., distal femur and proximal tibia) are labeled as charge densities between which the electric field is solved by approximation to the Laplace equation. The method yields a unique solution determined by the field lines across the “capacitor” and is hypothesized to be more sensitive than conventional (Sharp) scores and immune to degeneracies that limit simple distance-along-axis or closest-point analysis. The algorithm was validated in CBCT phantom images and applied in two clinical scenarios: osteoarthritis (OA, change in loadbearing tibiofemoral joint space); and assessment of injury risk (correlation of 3D joint space to tibial slope). Results: Joint space maps computed from the electrostatic model were accurate to within the voxel size (0.26 mm). The method highlighted subtle regions of morphological change that would likely be missed by conventional scalar metrics. Regions of subtle cartilage erosion were well quantified,more » and the method confidently discriminated OA and non-OA cohorts. 3D joint space maps correlated well with tibial slope and provide a new basis for principal component analysis of loadbearing injury risk. Runtime was less than 5 min (235×235×121 voxel subvolume in Matlab). Conclusion: A new method for joint space assessment was reported as a possible image-based biomarker of subtle articular change. The algorithm yields accurate quantitation of the joint in a manner that is robust against operator and patient setup variation. The method shows promising initial results in ongoing trials of CBCT in osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and injury risk assessment. Research supported by R01 and R21 grants from the National Institutes of Health, academic-industry partnership with Carestream Health, and a grant from the US Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center.« less

Authors:
; ; ; ; ; ;  [1]
  1. Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD (United States)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
22409909
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Medical Physics
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 41; Journal Issue: 6; Other Information: (c) 2014 American Association of Physicists in Medicine; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 0094-2405
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY; 60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES; ALGORITHMS; BIOLOGICAL MARKERS; COMPUTERIZED TOMOGRAPHY; LAPLACE EQUATION; RHEUMATIC DISEASES; SPATIAL RESOLUTION

Citation Formats

Cao, Q, Thawait, G, Gang, G, Zbijewski, W, Riegel, T, Demehri, S, and Siewerdsen, J. TH-A-18C-02: An Electrostatic Model for Assessment of Joint Space Morphology in Cone-Beam CT. United States: N. p., 2014. Web. doi:10.1118/1.4889561.
Cao, Q, Thawait, G, Gang, G, Zbijewski, W, Riegel, T, Demehri, S, & Siewerdsen, J. TH-A-18C-02: An Electrostatic Model for Assessment of Joint Space Morphology in Cone-Beam CT. United States. https://doi.org/10.1118/1.4889561
Cao, Q, Thawait, G, Gang, G, Zbijewski, W, Riegel, T, Demehri, S, and Siewerdsen, J. 2014. "TH-A-18C-02: An Electrostatic Model for Assessment of Joint Space Morphology in Cone-Beam CT". United States. https://doi.org/10.1118/1.4889561.
@article{osti_22409909,
title = {TH-A-18C-02: An Electrostatic Model for Assessment of Joint Space Morphology in Cone-Beam CT},
author = {Cao, Q and Thawait, G and Gang, G and Zbijewski, W and Riegel, T and Demehri, S and Siewerdsen, J},
abstractNote = {Purpose: High-resolution cone-beam CT (CBCT) of the extremities presents a potentially valuable basis for image-based biomarkers of arthritis, trauma, and risk of injury. We present a new method for 3D joint space analysis that exploits the high isotropic spatial resolution of CBCT and is sensitive to small changes in disease-related morphology. Methods: The approach uses an “electrostatic” model in which joint surfaces (e.g., distal femur and proximal tibia) are labeled as charge densities between which the electric field is solved by approximation to the Laplace equation. The method yields a unique solution determined by the field lines across the “capacitor” and is hypothesized to be more sensitive than conventional (Sharp) scores and immune to degeneracies that limit simple distance-along-axis or closest-point analysis. The algorithm was validated in CBCT phantom images and applied in two clinical scenarios: osteoarthritis (OA, change in loadbearing tibiofemoral joint space); and assessment of injury risk (correlation of 3D joint space to tibial slope). Results: Joint space maps computed from the electrostatic model were accurate to within the voxel size (0.26 mm). The method highlighted subtle regions of morphological change that would likely be missed by conventional scalar metrics. Regions of subtle cartilage erosion were well quantified, and the method confidently discriminated OA and non-OA cohorts. 3D joint space maps correlated well with tibial slope and provide a new basis for principal component analysis of loadbearing injury risk. Runtime was less than 5 min (235×235×121 voxel subvolume in Matlab). Conclusion: A new method for joint space assessment was reported as a possible image-based biomarker of subtle articular change. The algorithm yields accurate quantitation of the joint in a manner that is robust against operator and patient setup variation. The method shows promising initial results in ongoing trials of CBCT in osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and injury risk assessment. Research supported by R01 and R21 grants from the National Institutes of Health, academic-industry partnership with Carestream Health, and a grant from the US Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center.},
doi = {10.1118/1.4889561},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22409909}, journal = {Medical Physics},
issn = {0094-2405},
number = 6,
volume = 41,
place = {United States},
year = {Sun Jun 15 00:00:00 EDT 2014},
month = {Sun Jun 15 00:00:00 EDT 2014}
}