Binary local fractal dimension: a precise structure parameter for 3D high resolution computed tomography images of the human spongiosa

FELIX SEBASTIAN LEO THOMSEN; JAIME PEÑA; JAN BASTGEN; BEATA HOFFMANN; ISOLDE FRIELING; CLAUS-C. GLÜER; CLAUDIO DELRIEUX

Córdoba

Conferencia; Jornadas Argentinas de Informática: 14th Argentine Symposium on Technology; 2013

Sociedad Argentina de Informática e Investigación Operativa

We present the Binary Local Fractal Dimension (LFD) toanalyze osteoporosis induced fracture risk with clinical 3D high resolutionquantitative computed tomographic (HRCT) images of humanvertebrae. We test if LFD parameters provide precise additional informationbesides bone mineral density (BMD) and standard descriptorsof bone quality, for example bone surface ratio (BS/BV). We define aweighted LFD (wLFD) using the ¯R2 of the H¨older exponents. We comparethe LFD with standard methods (distance transform, direct secantmethod and run-length method) on 5 vertebrae 8 volumes of interestand 5 repeated scans. The wLFD contains the highest direct andBMD-independent precision (R2 = 0.985 and R2 = 0.949), followed byBS/BV (R2 = 0.977 and R2 = 0.920) including low correlation withBMD (wLFD: R2 = 0.704, BS/BV: R2 = 0.814). LFD improves thetranslation from reference CT- to clinical HRCT-resolution. In conclusion,LFD provides a strong diagnostic tool to characterize bone qualityto predict osteoporosis induced fracture risk.