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. 2017:2017:2471368.
doi: 10.1155/2017/2471368. Epub 2017 Jul 9.

In Vivo Assessment of Elasticity of Child Rib Cortical Bone Using Quantitative Computed Tomography

Y Zhu  1   2 , F Bermond  1 , J Payen de la Garanderie  3 , J-B Pialat  4 , B Sandoz  5 , D Brizard  1 , J-P Pracros  3 , F Rongieras  1   6 , W Skalli  5 , D Mitton  1
Affiliations

In Vivo Assessment of Elasticity of Child Rib Cortical Bone Using Quantitative Computed Tomography

Y Zhu et al. Appl Bionics Biomech. 2017.

Abstract

Elasticity of the child rib cortical bone is poorly known due to the difficulties in obtaining specimens to perform conventional tests. It was shown on the femoral cortical bone that elasticity is strongly correlated with density for both children and adults through a unique relationship. Thus, it is assumed that the relationships between the elasticity and density of adult rib cortical bones could be expanded to include that of children. This study estimated in vivo the elasticity of the child rib cortical bone using quantitative computed tomography (QCT). Twenty-eight children (from 1 to 18 y.o.) were considered. Calibrated QCT images were prescribed for various thoracic pathologies. The Hounsfield units were converted to bone mineral density (BMD). A relationship between the BMD and the elasticity of the rib cortical bone was applied to estimate the elasticity of children's ribs in vivo. The estimated elasticity increases with growth (7.1 ± 2.5 GPa at 1 y.o. up to 11.6 ± 1.9 GPa at 18 y.o.). This data is in agreement with the few previous values obtained using direct measurements. This methodology paves the way for in vivo assessment of the elasticity of the child cortical bone based on calibrated QCT images.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(a) A front view of the 3D reconstructed rib cage from CT slices, (b) an example of 100 equally spaced rib cross-sectional images, and (c) a rib cross-sectional image with contours and ROI.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Summary of the methods and results from the quantitative computed tomography acquisition up to the elasticity assessment. In the regressions, SEE stands for standard error of estimate.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The estimated Young's modulus (E) along age.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Young's modulus and BMD relationships of human cortical bones, derived from Duchemin et al. [22] and Öhman et al. [27]. The original data were ash densities and were converted into QCT density using the relationship between QCT density and ash density proposed by Kaneko et al. [25], Zhu et al. [31], and the current study.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Young's modulus along the age for pediatric ribs from Kemper et al. [9], Agnew et al. [3], and the current study.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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