Vertebral trabecular bone: comparison of single and dual-energy CT measurements with chemical analysis.

We have done detailed analysis of 50 excised L1 vertebral bones including single-energy CT, preprocessing dual-energy CT, as well as a number of physical and chemical analyses to determine the amount of fat and the elemental composition. We found a good correlation (0.91) between single-energy CT measurements and mineral element content and excellent correlation (0.95) between dual-energy CT measurements and mineral element content. The SEEs of the CT mineral were 14 and 10 mg (K2HPO4 equivalent) per cm3 for single and dual energy, respectively. We also report on the variation of fat and mineral content with respect to age, the quantitative effect of fat variation on CT values, and the relationship between calcium and phosphorus content.