A novel calibration of vertebral bone quality score for the evaluation of osteoporosis in the lumbar spine.

AIM: The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based vertebral bone quality (VBQ) score can be used as a screening tool for identifying patients who may have osteoporosis; however, a significant influence of the magnetic fields of 1.5 T and 3.0 T on the score has been reported. The purpose of this study was to introduce a novel calibration to overcome the problem.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

We standardised fat infiltration measurement by calibrating the VBQ score to subcutaneous fat, terming it the calibrated-VBQ score. We retrospectively collected patients who underwent both the 1.5-T and 3.0-T MRI examinations. The self-paired VBQ score, a modified-VBQ score, and the calibrated-VBQ score were compared between different magnetic fields. Correlation analysis and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis were performed.

RESULTS

The study included 83 patients (mean age: 67.7 ± 8.3 years). The analysis of self-paired patients revealed that the 1.5-T and 3.0-T magnetic fields had no influence on the calibrated-VBQ score, whereas a significant influence on the VBQ scores and the modified-VBQ score was found. By correlation analysis and ROC curve analysis, a better diagnostic effect of the calibrated-VBQ score for osteoporosis could be found than with the VBQ score and the modified-VBQ score.

CONCLUSION

The calibrated-VBQ score could overcome the inconsistency between the magnetic fields of 1.5 T and 3.0 T, and it could be considered as a better screening tool for osteoporosis compared with the traditional VBQ scores.