A review of methods for quantitative evaluation of axial vertebral rotation.

Abstract

Quantitative evaluation of axial vertebral rotation is essential for the determination of reference values in normal and pathological conditions and for understanding the mechanisms of the progression of spinal deformities. However, routine quantitative evaluation of axial vertebral rotation is difficult and error-prone due to the limitations of the observer, characteristics of the observed vertebral anatomy and specific imaging properties. The scope of this paper is to review the existing methods for quantitative evaluation of axial vertebral rotation from medical images along with all relevant publications, which may provide a valuable resource for studying the existing methods or developing new methods and evaluation strategies. The reviewed methods are divided into the methods for evaluation of axial vertebral rotation in 2D images and the methods for evaluation of axial vertebral rotation in 3D images. Key evaluation issues and future considerations, supported by the results of the overview, are also discussed.