Quantification of Structural Differences in the Human Calvarium Diploe by Means of X-ray Computed Microtomography Image Analysis: A Case Study

Abstract

Accurate models for the human diploe have to take into account any structural differences in the four main areas of the calvaria bones. In this study the technique of Xray computed microtomography (μ-CT) along with image analysis was used in order to visualize and quantitatively analyze differences in the micro-architecture of the human calvarium diploe. A bone specimen from each area of the skull (temporal, frontal, parietal and occipital) was extracted from a human donor and each specimen was characterized in terms of density, specific surface area, trabecular thickness and anisotropy. The obtained results reveal that in the considered case there are structural differences which therefore can be useful for refining traditional models that assume equal conditions throughout the skull.