Digital measurements: a different approach to evaluate bone formation. A technical report.

In this study a digital measurement technique has been proposed to quantify bone formation on histological images. Two standard parietal defects were created in 30 adult rabbits. The animals were divided into six groups. Four animals of each group were randomly chosen as experimental group in which osteopontin-coated hydroxyapatite (OPN-HA) and hydroxyapatite (HA) were inserted alternatively in created defects. To observe the spontaneous healing process of defects, one animal of each group was used as control animal and these created defects did not receive any implants. The animals were sacrificed after 1, 2, 6, 12, 18 and 30 weeks. The histological sections were magnified (x100) and scanned digitally. The newly formed bone surfaces within the healing area were indicated and quantified by means of Adobe Photoshop 7 software. This measuring technique was found to be reliable and reproducible. The results of this study show no significant differences in bone formation between the OPN-HA and non-coated HA defects, although a significant difference in bone formation was measured at the margins of the defects treated with OPN-HA. Copyright (c) 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel.