Measurement of Intervertebral Cervical Motion by Means of Dynamic X-Ray Image Processing and Data Interpolation. (31st October 2013)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Bifulco, Paolo; Cesarelli, Mario; Romano, Maria; Fratini, Antonio; Sansone, Mario
• Other Names: Chen J. C. Academic Editor.
• Is Part Of: International journal of biomedical imaging. Volume 2013(2013)
• Publication Date: 2013-10-31
• Subjects: Diagnostic imaging -- Periodicals; Imaging systems in medicine -- Periodicals; Imagerie pour le diagnostic; Imagerie médicale; Diagnostic imaging; Imaging systems in medicine; Diagnostic Imaging -- Periodicals; Electronic journals; Periodicals; 616.0754
• DOI: 10.1155/2013/152920
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1687-4188

Abstract

Abstract : Accurate measurement of intervertebral kinematics of the cervical spine can support the diagnosis of widespread diseases related to neck pain, such as chronic whiplash dysfunction, arthritis, and segmental degeneration. The natural inaccessibility of the spine, its complex anatomy, and the small range of motion only permit concise measurement in vivo. Low dose X-ray fluoroscopy allows time-continuous screening of cervical spine during patient's spontaneous motion. To obtain accurate motion measurements, each vertebra was tracked by means of image processing along a sequence of radiographic images. To obtain a time-continuous representation of motion and to reduce noise in the experimental data, smoothing spline interpolation was used. Estimation of intervertebral motion for cervical segments was obtained by processing patient's fluoroscopic sequence; intervertebral angle and displacement and the instantaneous centre of rotation were computed. The RMS value of fitting errors resulted in about 0.2 degree for rotation and 0.2 mm for displacements.