Computerized Osteoporosis Detection Technology Based on X-Ray Digitization, Computer Algorithm

A computerized tool has been developed to inspect patient bone X-rays for diagnosis of osteoporosis, and could eliminate the subjectivity associated with the visual examination.

The new findings were published in the International Journal of Biomedical Engineering and Technology October 2012. Dr. Neelesh Kumar of the Central Scientific Instruments Organization (CSIO; Chandigarh, India) and colleagues acknowledged that osteoporosis rate is increasing but that diagnosis using X-ray images of the patient’s skeleton frequently lead to false-positive and false-negative findings because visual examination, no matter how skilled, is subjective. They have now developed a new approach based on the digitization of the X-ray images and bone porosity estimation associated with osteoporosis based on a advanced computer algorithm. X-rays are employed four times out of five for the diagnosis of osteoporosis, typically where other more expensive or inconvenient modalities such as dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) are precluded.

X-ray examination usually corroborates the diagnosis of osteoporosis at the severe or late-stage of development. However, a computerized system could allow much earlier diagnosis to be conducted and therefore give patients the chance to be treated more effectively before the disorder becomes a potentially incapacitating illness.

The addition of a reference index to the X-ray image is vital to the effectiveness of the new computerized technique. With standard techniques, the X-ray source quality, film, and its processing quality are possible sources of error but in the new system, these sources are all but eradicated by the digital index on the film, according to the researchers.

The investigators assessed the system on 40 elderly Asian patients with known diagnoses. Nine out of 10 of the females had osteoporosis, as did nearly two-thirds of the men. The error rate is less than 2%, according to the investigators. The team has begun the collection of a knowledge base contained validated X-ray images to which the computer algorithm compares new X-rays. This database can be added to with new verified images once a definitive diagnosis has been made and so the system will improve with use.

“The new tool is a cost-effective solution, as it uses the existing facilities available in hospitals and thus, imparts no extra financial burden on healthcare providers or patients for quantitative estimation of osteoporosis,” the researchers wrote in their article. They also noted that the same computerized diagnosis could be modified to analyze bone deformity, X-ray cracks, scoliosis measurement, and fractures.

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Central Scientific Instruments Organization