Assessing Cortical Thickness in Human Tibiae With Sonography vs Computed Tomography: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Osteoporosis is a public health problem worldwide that decreases bone strength and increases the risk for fractures. Cortical thickness of long bones has gained attention because of its contributions to the resistance of bone fracture. What is currently lacking is a nonionizing imaging modality that assesses cortical bones with a sensitivity equal to that of computed tomography (CT). Tibiae were utilized to compare cortical thickness measurements recorded with diagnostic medical sonography (DMS) and CT. Four percentage sites (4%, 38%, 50%, 66%) were identified along the tibiae, and cortical measurements were taken from 3 views (anterior, medial, lateral). Medial views at all sites except 38% had DMS full measurements that were not significantly different than those collected with CT. The 4% sites in all views yielded the most cortical thickness measurements that were not significantly different from those of CT. These promising results at DMS full 4% sites open the possibility of translating this methodology to bones that have thin cortices and high risks of fragility fractures, such as the radius.