Skip to main content
Fig. 1 | Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research

Fig. 1

From: Fully automated segmentation of callus by micro-CT compared to biomechanics

Fig. 1

2D axial μCT grey-value image of the original cortical bone, callus and air/bone marrow (a, e), conventionally contoured images according to the method described by Namayn et al. (b) and Morgan et al. (c) and a corresponding fully automated segmented image (d, callus = red, original bone = white, marrow/air = black). A single contour adjacent to the callus distorted the evaluation of the volume-dependent callus parameters (e.g. BV/TV and BMD) because TV enclosed (in addition to the callus) all structures within the contour, such as the cortical bone and air/marrow. Therefore, the adjacent contouring is not necessary (b, f). Contouring of both the outer callus (green line) and outer cortical bone (red line) enables all callus parameters to be determined (between the lines) in an area not corresponding to the fracture gap (c). The latter was not possible within the fracture gap, especially if slight comminution was present (g). The enclosed air and unmineralised tissue would contribute to considerable underestimation of the volume-dependent parameters, and no measurement of the endosteal callus would be possible. Fully automated segmentation required no adjacent contouring of the ROI and enabled, even within the fracture gap, the separation of all islands of callus and cortical bone as well as determination of the non-volume-dependent parameters (h; for ROI, see Fig. 3). Upper line: the same images of an area outside of the fracture gap; lower line: the same images of an area within the fracture gap

Back to article page