The use of microcomputed tomography for human trabecular bone microstructure analysis within the Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification: a twenty-year review

Microcomputed tomography (µCT) is a non-invasive, high-resolution imaging modality enabling the visualisation of three-dimensional bone structure. Over the past two decades, the Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification (CAHID), University of Dundee, has adopted µCT to explore human bone microstructure. This study reviews the evolution of µCT research at CAHID, highlighting methodological advancements, challenges encountered, knowledge
gained, and future directions. The analysis of the trabecular architecture from juvenile skeletal specimens and adult bones from Scottish body donors, has provided insight into the human skeleton at various phases of life. The resolution of µCT imaging used within CAHID has increased from 34.5µm to 8.74 µm for the smallest of neonatal bones allowing for advancements in quantification and analysis of trabecular bone. A variety of image analysis software including Skyscan’s CTAnalyser and Comet’s Dragonfly have been utilised to quantify
a range of trabecular parameters including bone volume fraction, degree of anisotropy, trabecular thickness, separation, number, and structural model index. Multiple approaches to defining volumes of interests (VOI) have been explored, incorporating various grid systems, scaling methods, and shapes of VOIs. Recently, three-dimensional whole bone mapping has been added to the suite of analytical approaches adopted. As a result, a review of CAHID’s µCT trabecular research demonstrates the challenges and advancements of µCT research. Future µCT research within CAHID will seek to investigate understudied areas of the skeleton, in addition to utilising µCT for cortical analysis and bone mineral density measurements.
Ethical approval was not required for the research of the Scheuer Juvenile Collection due to individuals within the collection having a time-since-death of over 100 years. Use of body donors for research complied with the Anatomy Act (1984) and the Human Tissue (Scotland) Act 2006.