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µCT Imaging at OBL
Micro-computed tomography is
an established technique for the nondestructive assessment and analysis
of the three-dimensional trabecular bone structure. A compact
micro-tomographic system has been developed by Rüegsegger et al.
(Calcif. Tiss. Int., 1996, 58:24-29). This miniature CT-scanner, also
referred to as desk-top µCT, allows for noninvasive imaging and
quantitative morphometry of bone specimens of various sizes. It also
allows for the characterization of the effects of disease processes and
therapeutic agents on trabecular bone architecture in human bone and a
variety of animal models.
Trabecular bone consists of a complicated three-dimensional network of
plates and rods, arranged in a lattice-like network. Aging, disease
process, and therapeutic agents can influence the number of elements in
this network, their dimensions and connectivity, thereby causing
dramatic changes in bone strength. To date, information about these
structural parameters of trabecular bone are only available by
histomorphometry, a destructive procedure limited to two-dimensional
analysis. |
