119 - A Novel Workflow for Quantifying 3D Skeletal Anatomy of Living Humans for Morpho-functional Analysis

Poster Board Number: 119
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Abstract Body : Accurate and repeatable assessments of three-dimensional (3D) skeletal morphology are critical to interpretations of functional anatomy, and, therefore, reconstructions of behavior and ecology in the fossil and archaeological records, as well as evaluations of injury risk and treatment planning in clinical populations. In skeletal specimens, these goals can be accomplished using in-silico models derived from 3D laser scan, photogrammetry, or computed tomography (CT) data. Assessments of skeletal morphology in living subjects, especially humans, are more challenging and are often either cost-prohibitive (e.g., magnetic resonance imaging) or expose subjects to high doses of ionizing radiation (e.g., CT). Here, we present a new, open-source method for assessing 3D skeletal morphology of living human subjects using ultra-low dose biplanar radiographs. Biplanar radiographs are obtained using an EOS Imaging System (EOS Imaging, Inc.) with the subject standing so that the relative positions of skeletal elements are captured in a loaded, functional position. Landmarks are manually placed on features of interest in radiographs using the StereoMorph package for R. Landmark coordinate data are then processed, undistorted, and scaled using custom R scripts. We combine this workflow for quantifying 3D skeletal morphology with established tools for 3D motion analysis to directly test hypothesized form-function relationships in the human postcranial skeleton. We demonstrate this workflow with a preliminary analysis of lower-limb skeleton torsional alignment and walking biomechanics in a sample of healthy adult humans (n=30). This approach provides a safe (i.e., lower radiation) and lower cost solution for in-vivo analyses of musculoskeletal form and function applicable to multiple human cohorts, as well as to other biplanar radiograph platforms and study organisms.