Four-Dimensional Computed Tomography to measure distal radial-ulnar and radio-carpal joint congruency following distal radius fractures

Puneet Ranota; Yiyang Zhang; Emily A Lalone; Nina Suh

doi:10.1016/j.jor.2021.03.008

Four-Dimensional Computed Tomography to measure distal radial-ulnar and radio-carpal joint congruency following distal radius fractures

J Orthop. 2021 Mar 26:25:31-39. doi: 10.1016/j.jor.2021.03.008. eCollection 2021 May-Jun.

Authors

Puneet Ranota¹, Yiyang Zhang^{2

3}, Emily A Lalone^{1

2

4

3}, Nina Suh^{2

3}

Affiliations

¹ School of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, The University of Western Ontario, London, Canada.
² Department of Surgery, The University of Western Ontario, London, Canada.
³ Roth|McFarlane Hand and Upper Limb Centre, St. Joseph's Health Care, London, Ontario, Canada.
⁴ Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, The University of Western Ontario, London, Canada.

Abstract

Four-dimensional computed tomography (4DCT) allows for the assessment of the wrist contact mechanics and kinematics during motion. The purpose of this study was to employ 4DCT to measure the differences in joint surface area (JSA) (3D joint space) at the radioscaphoid, radiolunate, and distal radioulnar joints between a cohort of participants with a distal radius fracture (DRF) and an age-matched cohort of healthy participants. Our results indicated that following a DRF, there was a 20% decrease in JSA at the DRUJ when compared to the healthy (control) cohort. This study demonstrated the use of a non-invasive tool to examine wrist contact mechanics.

Keywords: Degenerative disease; Outcome measure; Wrist fracture; X-ray computed tomography.