Investigating microarchitectural characteristics of woven bone exposed to ionizing radiation: comparative analysis of two segmentation methods and their impact on trabecular measurements in an animal study

The study aimed to evaluate bone formation in surgical defects exposed to ionizing radiation (IR) and to compare two image segmentation methods: manual and standardized delimitation of the region-of-interest (ROI). Bone defects were created in the tibias of Wistar rats using a 2.3 mm trephine. After...

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Main Authors: Tássio Edno Atanásio Pitorro, Milena Suemi Irie, Clara de Oliveira Barbosa Bites, Gabriella Lopes de Rezende Barbosa, Gustavo Davi Rabelo, Priscilla Barbosa Ferreira Soares
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universidade Federal de Uberlândia 2025-02-01
Series:Bioscience Journal
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Online Access:https://seer.ufu.br/index.php/biosciencejournal/article/view/75383
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author Tássio Edno Atanásio Pitorro
Milena Suemi Irie
Clara de Oliveira Barbosa Bites
Gabriella Lopes de Rezende Barbosa
Gustavo Davi Rabelo
Priscilla Barbosa Ferreira Soares
author_facet Tássio Edno Atanásio Pitorro
Milena Suemi Irie
Clara de Oliveira Barbosa Bites
Gabriella Lopes de Rezende Barbosa
Gustavo Davi Rabelo
Priscilla Barbosa Ferreira Soares
author_sort Tássio Edno Atanásio Pitorro
collection DOAJ
description The study aimed to evaluate bone formation in surgical defects exposed to ionizing radiation (IR) and to compare two image segmentation methods: manual and standardized delimitation of the region-of-interest (ROI). Bone defects were created in the tibias of Wistar rats using a 2.3 mm trephine. After seven days, the animals were exposed to IR (30 Gy single dose). Two weeks later, the animals were euthanized, and their tibias were scanned using X-ray microtomography. ROI definition was performed by a single operator using two methods: (a) interactive segmentation, where the woven bone was manually outlined within the bone defect region, and (b) a standardized, predefined rectangular ROI. Bone volume fraction (BV/TV), trabecular thickness (Tb.Th), trabecular separation (Tb.Sp), trabecular number (Tb.N), bone surface (BS/BV), and fractal dimension (FD) were assessed for both segmentation methods. Significant differences were observed for BV/TV (p<0.001), Tb.N (p<0.001), and Tb.Sp (p<0.001), but not for Tb.Th (p=0.71), BS/BV (p=0.79), and FD (p=0.35). The manual method was approximately 3.5 times more time-consuming than the predefined ROI method (446.2±49.5 vs 131.2±38.8 s, p<0.001). None of the evaluated parameters showed significant differences when the IR was considered. Within the limitations of this study, the finding indicate that IR does not interfere with the bone repair process when delivered post-surgery. While manual segmentation is more time consuming, it retrieves greater bone volume and reveals differences in trabecular structure, showing more trabeculae number and less trabeculae separation in irradiated bone.
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publisher Universidade Federal de Uberlândia
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series Bioscience Journal
spelling doaj-art-c65b06357ac943c2a2de8f23e2de90f32025-08-20T02:46:06ZengUniversidade Federal de UberlândiaBioscience Journal1981-31632025-02-0141e41003e4100310.14393/BJ-v41n0a2025-7538377106Investigating microarchitectural characteristics of woven bone exposed to ionizing radiation: comparative analysis of two segmentation methods and their impact on trabecular measurements in an animal studyTássio Edno Atanásio Pitorro0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0073-0527Milena Suemi Irie1Clara de Oliveira Barbosa Bites2Gabriella Lopes de Rezende Barbosa3Gustavo Davi Rabelo4https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9511-5078Priscilla Barbosa Ferreira Soares5Universidade Federal de UberlândiaUniversidade Federal de UberlândiaUniversidade Federal de UberlândiaUniversidade Federal de UberlândiaUniversidade Federal de Santa CatarinaUniversidade Federal de UberlândiaThe study aimed to evaluate bone formation in surgical defects exposed to ionizing radiation (IR) and to compare two image segmentation methods: manual and standardized delimitation of the region-of-interest (ROI). Bone defects were created in the tibias of Wistar rats using a 2.3 mm trephine. After seven days, the animals were exposed to IR (30 Gy single dose). Two weeks later, the animals were euthanized, and their tibias were scanned using X-ray microtomography. ROI definition was performed by a single operator using two methods: (a) interactive segmentation, where the woven bone was manually outlined within the bone defect region, and (b) a standardized, predefined rectangular ROI. Bone volume fraction (BV/TV), trabecular thickness (Tb.Th), trabecular separation (Tb.Sp), trabecular number (Tb.N), bone surface (BS/BV), and fractal dimension (FD) were assessed for both segmentation methods. Significant differences were observed for BV/TV (p<0.001), Tb.N (p<0.001), and Tb.Sp (p<0.001), but not for Tb.Th (p=0.71), BS/BV (p=0.79), and FD (p=0.35). The manual method was approximately 3.5 times more time-consuming than the predefined ROI method (446.2±49.5 vs 131.2±38.8 s, p<0.001). None of the evaluated parameters showed significant differences when the IR was considered. Within the limitations of this study, the finding indicate that IR does not interfere with the bone repair process when delivered post-surgery. While manual segmentation is more time consuming, it retrieves greater bone volume and reveals differences in trabecular structure, showing more trabeculae number and less trabeculae separation in irradiated bone.https://seer.ufu.br/index.php/biosciencejournal/article/view/75383bonefractalsx-ray microtomography.
spellingShingle Tássio Edno Atanásio Pitorro
Milena Suemi Irie
Clara de Oliveira Barbosa Bites
Gabriella Lopes de Rezende Barbosa
Gustavo Davi Rabelo
Priscilla Barbosa Ferreira Soares
Investigating microarchitectural characteristics of woven bone exposed to ionizing radiation: comparative analysis of two segmentation methods and their impact on trabecular measurements in an animal study
Bioscience Journal
bone
fractals
x-ray microtomography.
title Investigating microarchitectural characteristics of woven bone exposed to ionizing radiation: comparative analysis of two segmentation methods and their impact on trabecular measurements in an animal study
title_full Investigating microarchitectural characteristics of woven bone exposed to ionizing radiation: comparative analysis of two segmentation methods and their impact on trabecular measurements in an animal study
title_fullStr Investigating microarchitectural characteristics of woven bone exposed to ionizing radiation: comparative analysis of two segmentation methods and their impact on trabecular measurements in an animal study
title_full_unstemmed Investigating microarchitectural characteristics of woven bone exposed to ionizing radiation: comparative analysis of two segmentation methods and their impact on trabecular measurements in an animal study
title_short Investigating microarchitectural characteristics of woven bone exposed to ionizing radiation: comparative analysis of two segmentation methods and their impact on trabecular measurements in an animal study
title_sort investigating microarchitectural characteristics of woven bone exposed to ionizing radiation comparative analysis of two segmentation methods and their impact on trabecular measurements in an animal study
topic bone
fractals
x-ray microtomography.
url https://seer.ufu.br/index.php/biosciencejournal/article/view/75383
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