摘要 |
The risk of future fracture or deformity of vertebrae of a spine may be estimated by processing an image of at least one vertebra of a spine to compare data representing the appearance of the at least one vertebra with a statistical model of a corresponding part of a spine, the statistical model being formed from data representing images of spines for which information about the degree of fracture or deformity of each spine at a subsequent time is known, and deriving a measure of the similarity between the at least one vertebra of the spine and the model, which measure is representative of the likelihood that the spine will subsequently sustain a fracture or become deformed. |