Image-Processing Techniques Applied to the Study of the Musculoskeletal System and Its Interactions with Biomaterials

Abstract

Over the past decade, orthopedic surgery and related research have made increasing use of the opportunities offered by computers. Many clinical and research procedures rely on medical images (e.g., x-ray films and histology) and their numerical evaluation (e.g., geometric analysis and surface metrology). This has led to the development of computer applications in orthopedics, with computer graphics playing a fundamental role. The image-processing field has also been studied in greater depth, with a view toward enhancing systems automation.Image processing relies on capturing measurable variations in some image parameters (e.g., light intensity, color, and signal-to-noise ratio). The extracted numerical values then can be used to modify the source image. From this definition, image processing can be considered a measurement technique, and in this light it has been introduced into histomorpho-metrical practice.Image processing speeds up routine analysis procedures by evaluating, in a less tedious and quicker way, a greater number of images, parameters, or both. Semiautomated computerized image-processing systems have been in use for a long time, based on computer-assisted analysis of objects whose contours were tracked manually by a digitizing cursor. Histological images were, generally, projected from the microscope over a digitizing tablet, with the operator visually recognizing the structure of interest and picking up its contours. The critical advance brought to histomorphometry by semiautomated techniques has been the practical measurement of surface-related parameters.