Method for determining vertebral body positions in the sagittal plane using skin markers

A method by which the location of vertebral bodies can be estimated from the external profile of the spine in the sagittal plane is described. The technique involves a normalization of the curve from T1 to L5 and approximation using a cubic spline. Mapping functions are developed that enable the tra...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Spine (Philadelphia, Pa. 1976) Pa. 1976), 1989-03, Vol.14 (3), p.258-265
Main Authors: TIM BRYANT, J, GAVIN REID, J, SMITH, B. L, STEVENSON, J. M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Methods
Posture
Skeleton and joints
Spine - anatomy & histology
Vertebrates: osteoarticular system, musculoskeletal system
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:A method by which the location of vertebral bodies can be estimated from the external profile of the spine in the sagittal plane is described. The technique involves a normalization of the curve from T1 to L5 and approximation using a cubic spline. Mapping functions are developed that enable the transformation of a skin profile to a vertebral centroid curve. Data were obtained for 13 subjects between the ages of 13 and 17 who had undergone lateral spinal radiographs with radiopaque skin markers over the vertebral spinal processes. Results suggested that vertebral body centroids could be estimated from the skin profile to a precision having a standard error of the estimate of 0.4 cm. This was improved to 0.2 cm if the lumbar curve were considered separately.
ISSN:0362-2436
1528-1159
DOI:10.1097/00007632-198903000-00004