Quantitative assessment of growth plate activity
In the immature skeleton the physis or growth plate is the area of bone least able to withstand external forces and is therefore prone to trauma. Such trauma often leads to premature closure of the plate and results in limb shortening and/or angular deformity (varus or valgus). Active localization of bone seeking tracers in the physis makes bone scintigraphy an excellent method for assessing growth plate physiology. To be most effective, however, physeal activity should be quantified so that serial evaluations are accurate and comparable. The authors have developed a quantitative method for assessing physeal activity and have applied it ot the hip and knee. Using computer acquired pinhole images of the abnormal and contralateral normal joints, ten regions of interest are placed at key locations around each joint and comparative ratios are generated to form a growth plate profile. The ratios compare segmental physeal activity to total growth plate activity on both ipsilateral and contralateral sides and to adjacent bone. In 25 patients, ages 2 to 15 years, with angular deformities of the legs secondary to trauma, Blount's disease, and Perthes disease, this technique is able to differentiate abnormal segmental physeal activity. This is important since plate closure does not usually occur uniformly across the physis. The technique may permit the use of scintigraphy in the prediction of early closure through the quantitative analysis of serial studies.
- Research Organization:
- Alfred I. DuPont Institute, Wilmington, DE
- OSTI ID:
- 6932952
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-840619-; TRN: 87-008845
- Journal Information:
- J. Nucl. Med.; (United States), Vol. 25:5; Conference: 31. annual meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA, 5 Jun 1984
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Growth plate closure: Apex view on bone scan
Skeletal metastasis: the effect on immature skeleton
Related Subjects
BONE JOINTS
INJURIES
SCINTISCANNING
AGE DEPENDENCE
CHILDREN
COMPUTER GRAPHICS
GROWTH
IMAGE PROCESSING
IMAGES
LEGS
PHYSIOLOGY
AGE GROUPS
BODY
BODY AREAS
COUNTING TECHNIQUES
DIAGNOSTIC TECHNIQUES
LIMBS
ORGANS
PROCESSING
RADIOISOTOPE SCANNING
SKELETON
550601* - Medicine- Unsealed Radionuclides in Diagnostics