ABSTRACT
Objective:To characterize the geriatric osteoporotic pelvic fractures using 3-D computed tomography (CT) fracture mapping.Methods:Retrospectively analyzed were the 79 elderly patients with pelvic fracture who had been admitted to Department of Orthopaedics, The 7th Medical Center of PLA General Hospital between January 2017 and December 2021. There were 24 men and 55 women, aged from 60 to 98 years (average, 74.3 years). The CT scan data of the pelvis from all patients were imported into the software (Mimics Medical 18.0, Geomagic Studio 2014, Rhinoceros 6.0, and Matlab) to create a 3-D pelvic fracture model. The fracture pieces were imported into a standard pelvic template to obtain the morphology of the fracture lines after fitting. A map of fracture line distribution frequency and a fracture heat map were created by fitting the fracture lines of all patients into a common pelvic template.Results:Of the 79 elderly patients with pelvic fracture, 69 (87.3%) had fractures of both the anterior and the posterior rings. The fracture map and heat map of geriatric pelvic fractures showed the following: the fracture lines of the anterior ring were concentrated in the junction of the cancellous bone and cortical bone of the superior and inferior pubic rami; the fracture lines of the posterior ring were concentrated in the middle and posterior 1/3 of the ilium and in the sacral wing; the fracture frequencies incurred by the pubic bone, sacrum, and ilium were from the highest to the lowest.Conclusions:Fracture mapping can visually characterize the distribution of fracture lines of the geriatric pelvic fractures. Simultaneous fractures of the anterior and posterior rings of the pelvis are the most typical kind of pelvic fractures in the elderly. The junction of the cancellous and cortical bones of the superior and inferior pubic rami and the area surrounding the sacroiliac joint are the most frequent locations for the fractures.
ABSTRACT
Fracture mapping, also known as mapping of fracture lines, is a technique of drawing fracture lines based on 3D reconstruction of radiological images. Fracture mapping can be used to describe fracture morphology, calculate fracture line angle and fragment area, improve clinical practice, propose a new classification system, clarify a fracture mechanism, and establish a model of bone fracture. At present, fracture mapping has become a powerful tool for study of morphology and clinical decision in orthopaedics. Reviewing the development of fracture mapping techniques, this paper addresses their clinical application in knee injuries, tibial plateau fracture, distal femur fracture and patellar fracture in particular. In addition, considering the trend of fracture mapping techniques and the morphology-related studies at present, we offer suggestions concerning improvement of techniques and morphology studies in knee injuries.