Application of quantitative computed tomography to Paget's disease of bone.

Serial evaluation of pagetic lesions is handicapped by the inability of conventional methods to reproduce precisely the positioning of the area of interest. A computed tomography method that provides visual and quantitative comparisons between data sets acquired at different times has been developed. The utility of this method is illustrated with an example of serial examinations that demonstrate the effect of treatment on small lytic lesions in the lumbar spine. A further demonstration is made of the ability of this method to identify and quantify lytic changes within the cochlear capsule.