Browsing by Author "Melia, Alexandra"

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    Centroid of Volume: A Surface Topography Measure used to Detect Changes in Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis
    (2016-02-03) Melia, Alexandra; Ronsky, Janet; Joughin, Elaine; Habib, Ayman
    Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS) is a complex three-dimensional (3D) deformity that affects 2-3% of the population. Current methods of diagnosing and monitoring AIS are repeated two-dimensional X-rays every 6-12 months. Repeated radiographs have been shown to increase cancer risk and do not account for 3D changes in the spine. To overcome these drawbacks, the University of Calgary Scoliosis group has developed a non-radiographic imaging technique to analyze 3D deformities using Surface Topography (ST). The overarching objective is to validate a set of ST indices to reliably detect scoliosis. A new ST index, Centroid of Volume (COV), that is a 3D measure of torso balance, is investigated in this thesis. This work found that COV detected differences between healthy and AIS groups and was moderately correlated to the Cobb angle. This index shows promise to detect AIS, which could help advance ST as a clinical tool for monitoring or detecting scoliosis.