C. Räth

Automated 3D trabecular bone structure analysis of the proximal femur—prediction of biomechanical strength by CT and DXA

SummaryThe standard diagnostic technique for assessing osteoporosis is dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) measuring bone mass parameters. In this study, a combination of DXA and trabecular structure parameters (acquired by computed tomography [CT]) most accurately predicted the biomechanical strength of the proximal femur and allowed for a better prediction than DXA alone.IntroductionAn automated 3D segmentation algorithm was applied to determine specific structure parameters of the trabecular bone in CT images of the proximal femur. This was done to evaluate the ability of these parameters for predicting biomechanical femoral bone strength in comparison with bone mineral content (BMC) and bone mineral density (BMD) acquired by DXA as standard diagnostic technique.MethodsOne hundred eighty-seven proximal femur specimens were harvested from formalin-fixed human cadavers. BMC and BMD were determined by DXA. Structure parameters of the trabecular bone (i.e., morphometry, fuzzy logic, Minkowski functionals, and the scaling index method [SIM]) were computed from CT images. Absolute femoral bone strength was assessed with a biomechanical side-impact test measuring failure load (FL). Adjusted FL parameters for appraisal of relative bone strength were calculated by dividing FL by influencing variables such as body height, weight, or femoral head diameter.ResultsThe best single parameter predicting FL and adjusted FL parameters was apparent trabecular separation (morphometry) or DXA-derived BMC or BMD with correlations up to r = 0.802. In combination with DXA, structure parameters (most notably the SIM and morphometry) added in linear regression models significant information in predicting FL and all adjusted FL parameters (up to Radj = 0.872) and allowed for a significant better prediction than DXA alone.ConclusionA combination of bone mass (DXA) and structure parameters of the trabecular bone (linear and nonlinear, global and local) most accurately predicted absolute and relative femoral bone strength.

Dynamics of Lane Formation in Driven Binary Complex Plasmas

The dynamical onset of lane formation is studied in experiments with binary complex plasmas under microgravity conditions. Small microparticles are driven and penetrate into a cloud of big particles, revealing a strong tendency towards lane formation. The observed time-resolved lane-formation process is in good agreement with computer simulations of a binary Yukawa model with Langevin dynamics. The laning is quantified in terms of the anisotropic scaling index, leading to a universal order parameter for driven systems.

Strength through structure: visualization and local assessment of the trabecular bone structure

The visualization and subsequent assessment of the inner human bone structures play an important role for better understanding the disease- or drug-induced changes of bone in the context of osteoporosis giving prospect for better predictions of bone strength and thus of the fracture risk of osteoporotic patients. In this work, we show how the complex trabecular bone structure can be visualized using μCT imaging techniques at an isotropic resolution of 26 μm. We quantify these structures by calculating global and local topological and morphological measures, namely Minkowski functionals (MFs) and utilizing the (an-)isotropic scaling index method (SIM) and by deriving suitable texture measures based on MF and SIM. Using a sample of 151 specimens taken from human vertebrae in vitro, we correlate the texture measures with the mechanically measured maximum compressive strength (MCS), which quantifies the strength of the bone probe, by using Pearsons correlation coefficient. The structure parameters derived from the local measures yield good correlations with the bone strength as measured in mechanical tests. We investigate whether the performance of the texture measures depends on the MCS value by selecting different subsamples according to MCS. Considering the whole sample the results for the newly defined parameters are better than those obtained for the standard global histomorphometric parameters except for bone volume/total volume (BV/TV). If a subsample consisting only of weak bones is analysed, the local structural analysis leads to similar and even better correlations with MCS as compared to BV/TV. Thus, the MF and SIM yield additional information about the stability of the bone especially in the case of weak bones, which corroborates the hypothesis that the bone structure (and not only its mineral mass) constitutes an important component of bone stability.

Model-independent test for scale-dependent non-Gaussianities in the cosmic microwave background.

We present a model-independent method to test for scale-dependent non-Gaussianities in combination with scaling indices as test statistics. Therefore, surrogate data sets are generated, in which the power spectrum of the original data is preserved, while the higher order correlations are partly randomized by applying a scale-dependent shuffling procedure to the Fourier phases. We apply this method to the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe data of the cosmic microwave background and find signatures for non-Gaussianities on large scales. Further tests are required to elucidate the origin of the detected anomalies.

Scale-dependent non-Gaussianities in the CMB data identified with Minkowski functionals and scaling indices

We present further investigations of the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) data by means of the Minkowski functionals and the scaling index method. In order to test for non-Gaussianities (NGs) with respect to scale-dependencies we use so-called surrogate maps, in which possible phase correlations of the Fourier phases of the original WMAP data and the simulations, respectively, are destroyed by applying a shuing scheme to the maps. A statistical comparison of the original maps with the surrogate maps then allows to test for the existence of higher order correlations (HOCs) in the original maps, also and especially on well-dened Fourier modes.

Scale-dependent non-Gaussianities in the WMAP data as identified by using surrogates and scaling indices

We present a model-independent investigation of the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) data with respect to scale-independent and scale-dependent non-Gaussianities (NGs). To this end, we employ the method of constrained randomization. For generating so-called surrogate maps a well-specified shuffling scheme is applied to the Fourier phases of the original data, which allows us to test for the presence of higher order correlations (HOCs) also and especially on well-defined scales. Using scaling indices as test statistics for the HOCs in the maps we find highly significant signatures for NGs when considering all scales. We test for NGs in four different l-bands Δl, namely in the bands Δl=[2, 20], [20, 60], [60, 120] and [120, 300]. We find highly significant signatures for both NGs and ecliptic hemispherical asymmetries for the interval Δl=[2, 20] covering the large scales. We also obtain highly significant deviations from Gaussianity for the band Δl=[120, 300]. The result for the full l-range can then easily be interpreted as a superposition of the signatures found in the bands Δl=[2, 20] and [120, 300]. We find remarkably similar results when analysing different ILC-like maps based on the WMAP 3-, 5- and 7-year data. We perform a set of tests to investigate whether and to what extent the detected anomalies can be explained by systematics. While none of these tests can convincingly rule out the intrinsic nature of the anomalies for the low-l case, the ILC map making procedure and/or residual noise in the maps can also lead to NGs at small scales. Our investigations prove that there are phase correlations in the WMAP data of the cosmic microwave background. In the absence of an explanation in terms of Galactic foregrounds or known systematic artefacts, the signatures at low l must so far be taken to be cosmological at high significance. These findings would strongly disagree with predictions of isotropic cosmologies with single field slow roll inflation. The task is now to elucidate the origin of the phase correlations and to understand the physical processes leading to these scale-dependent NGs - if it turns out that systematics as a cause for them must be ruled out.

Reproducibility of trabecular bone structure measurements of the distal radius at 1.5 and 3.0 T magnetic resonance imaging.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to assess and compare the reproducibility of trabecular bone structure measurements of the distal radius at 1.5 and 3.0 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Root mean square reproducibility errors ranged from 0.69% to 4.94% at 1.5 T MRI and from 0.38% to 5.80% at 3.0 T MRI. Thus, reproducibility errors of trabecular bone structure measurements are overall in an acceptable range and similar at 1.5 and 3.0 T MRI.

Structural properties of 3D complex plasmas under microgravity conditions

We report the structural properties of three-dimensional complex plasmas observed recently on board the International Space Station. A local order analysis reveals spatially resolved features that occur during the crystallization of a plasma crystal. The plasma crystal consists of hcp and fcc phases with a small fraction of bcc-like clusters. It has been shown that the observed anisotropy of the system of microparticles is due to presence of the hcp phase. Molecular-dynamics simulations of crystallization of a system of particles, interacting via Debye-Huckel (Yukawa) potential, reproduces the observed local order remarkably well.

Dust capture experiment in HT-7

A dust capture experiment was conducted in HT-7, a medium-sized superconducting tokamak of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. An aerogel was used to intercept fast particles propagating along the ion flow. The particles produced sizable impact craters, which were characterized and measured using 3D computer tomography and a seed growing algorithm. Captured particles were also photographed and measured. This allowed the determination of average impact yields, which were approximately more than four times the particle (projectile) mass. We provide evidence that the particle velocities may reach the hypervelocity regime, i.e. .

Probing non-Gaussianities in the cosmic microwave background on an incomplete sky using surrogates

We demonstrate the feasibility to generate surrogates by Fourier-based methods for an incomplete data set. This is performed for the case of a CMB analysis, where astrophysical foreground emission, mainly present in the Galactic plane, is a major challenge. The shuffling of the Fourier phases for generating surrogates is now enabled by transforming the spherical harmonics into a new set of basis functions that are orthonormal on the cut sky. The results show that non-Gaussianities and hemispherical asymmetries in the CMB as identified in several former investigations, can still be detected even when the complete Galactic plane (|b| < 30{\deg}) is removed. We conclude that the Galactic plane cannot be the dominant source for these anomalies. The results point towards a violation of statistical isotropy.