RESEARCH ARTICLE
Comparison of Radiographic and Surface Topography Measurements in Adolescents with Idiopathic Scoliosis
Jason M Frerich§, 1, *, Kristen Hertzler§, 1, Patrick Knott 1, Steven Mardjetko 2
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2012Volume: 6
First Page: 261
Last Page: 265
Publisher ID: TOORTHJ-6-261
DOI: 10.2174/1874325001206010261
Article History:
Received Date: 2/4/2012Revision Received Date: 5/6/2012
Acceptance Date: 18/6/2012
Electronic publication date: 27/7/2012
Collection year: 2012
open-access license: This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.
Abstract
Purpose:
In patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS), radiographic surveillance is the gold standard of assessing spinal deformity, but has negative long-term effects. The Formetric 4D surface topography system was compared to standard radiography as a safer option for evaluating patients with AIS.
Methods:
Fourteen volunteers with typical AIS patient stature had 30 repeated Formetric 4D measurements taken, and reproducibility was assessed. Sixty-four patients with AIS were then enrolled during routine clinic visits. Evaluation included standard radiographs and surface topography measurements. A comparison analysis was performed.
Results:
When assessing same-day repeated scans, a standard deviation of +/- 3.4 degrees for scoliosis curve measurements was determined, and the Reliability Coefficient (Cronbach) was very high (0.996). Cobb angles measured with the Formetric 4D differed from radiographic measurements by an average of 9.42 (lumbar) and 6.98 (thoracic) degrees, while the correlation between the two measurements was strong (95% confidence interval [CI]), 0.758 (lumbar) and 0.872 (thoracic) respectively.
Conclusions:
The Formetric 4D is comparable to radiography in terms of its test-retest reproducibility. Although this device does not predict curve magnitude exactly, the predictions correlate strongly with the Cobb angles determined from radiographs. It can be reliably used in the surveillance of patients with AIS.
