Radiology

Pathology

Bone mineral

Osteopenia

Quantitative computed tomography

Spinal fusion

Nuclear medicine

Biology

Magnetic resonance imaging

Paleontology

Trabecular bone score

Osteoporosis

Bone density

Context (archaeology)

Lumbar

Medicine

The Spine Journal

Osteoporosis is a risk factor for instrumentation failure in spine surgery. Bone strength is commonly assessed by bone mineral density (BMD) as a surrogate marker. However, BMD represents only a portion of bone strength and does not capture the qualitative dimensions of bone. Recently, the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based vertebral bone quality (VBQ) score was introduced as a novel marker of bone quality. However, it is still unclear if the VBQ score correlates with in-vivo bone microstructure.

Bone quality in patients with osteoporosis undergoing lumbar fusion surgery: analysis of the MRI-based vertebral bone quality score and the bone microstructure derived from microcomputed tomography