Robustness and Reproducibility of a Glenoid-Centered Scapular Coordinate System Derived From Low-Dose Stereoradiography Analysis

A robust and reproducible scapular coordinate system is necessary to study scapulo-thoracic kinematics. The coordinate system recommended by the ISB (International Society of Biomechanics) is difficult to apply in studies using medical imaging, which mostly use a glenoid-centered coordinate system. The aim of this study was to assess the robustness of a glenoid-centered coordinate system compared to the ISB coordinate system, and to study the reproducibility of this coordinate system measure during abduction. A Monte-Carlo analysis was performed to test the robustness of the two coordinate systems. This method enabled the variability of the orientation of the coordinate system to be assessed in laboratory setting. A reproducibility study of the glenoid-centered coordinate system in the thorax reference frame was performed during abduction in the scapular plane using a low-dose stereoradiography system. We showed that the glenoid-centered coordinate system was slightly more robust than the ISB-recommended coordinate system. Most reproducible rotation was upward/downward rotation (x axis) and most reproducible translation was along the Y axis (superior-inferior translation). In conclusion, the glenoid-centered coordinate system can be used with confidence for scapular kinematics analysis. The uncertainty of the measures derived from our technique is acceptable compared to that reported in the literature. Functional quantitative analysis of the scapular-thoracic joint is possible with this method.We would like to thank Guillaume Simer and Benjamin Aubert for their technical support. Funding: IRSST, ParisTech BiomecAM Chair, Société Générale and Covea

Investigation of 3D glenohumeral displacements from 3D reconstruction using biplane X-ray images: Accuracy and reproducibility of the technique and preliminary analysis in rotator cuff tear patients

Rotator cuff (RC) tears may be associated with increased glenohumeral instability; however, this instability is difficult to quantify using currently available diagnostic tools. Recently, the three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction and registration method of the scapula and humeral head, based on sequences of low-dose biplane X-ray images, has been proposed for glenohumeral displacement assessment. This research aimed to evaluate the accuracy and reproducibility of this technique and to investigate its potential with a preliminary application comparing RC tear patients and asymptomatic volunteers. Accuracy was assessed using CT scan model registration on biplane X-ray images for five cadaveric shoulder specimens and showed differences ranging from 0.6 to 1.4 mm depending on the direction of interest. Intra- and interobserver reproducibility was assessed through two operators who repeated the reconstruction of five subjects three times, allowing defining 95% confidence interval ranging from ±1.8 to ±3.6 mm. Intraclass correlation coefficient varied between 0.84 and 0.98. Comparison between RC tear patients and asymptomatic volunteers showed differences of glenohumeral displacements, especially in the superoinferior direction when shoulder was abducted at 20 and 45 . This study thus assessed the accuracy of the low-dose 3D biplane X-ray reconstruction technique for glenohumeral displacement assessment and showed potential in biomechanical and clinical research.Fondation Paris-Tech Programme BIOMECAM Chaire ParisTech Institut de Recherche Robert-Sauvé en Santé et Sécurité du Travail du Québec Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada Fonds de Recherche sur la Nature et les Technologies du Québec Fonds de Recherche en Santé du Québec, EOS Imaging, and French pôle de compétitivité MEDICEN (STEREOS + program)

Développement et validation d’une méthode d’évaluation destranslations glénohumérales 3d sous EOS(mc)

Precise morpho-functional analysis of the shoulder, including of the glenohumeral (GH) joint, would allow improving our understanding of shoulder dysfunction associated to rotator cuff tears. However, technical difficulties make analysis of shoulder morphology and motion difficult in a clinical setting. The work carried out during this thesis allowed developing a method for 3D analysis of GH translations relying on the acquisition of sequences of biplanar radiographs with the EOS™ system. A pilot study carried out on 10 healthy subjects allowed verifying the ease of application of an image acquisition protocol and evaluating the repeatability of shoulder landmark identification on the radiographs. The final proposed method allows, following the acquisition of radiographs, obtaining a personalized morphologically realistic reconstruction of the scapula and a simplified model of the humerus. These models are then interactively registered to the images acquired at different arm positions and used to describe GH translations for these positions. The proposed method was validated in terms of precision and repeatability on images acquired of cadaveric shoulders and of patients with rotator cuff tears. The last part of the work presented here consists in applying the developed method to 30 subjects (25 patients and 5 asymptomatic subjects) for whom rotator cuff condition and shoulder function were assessed, and to study correlations between GH translations and shoulder function.L'analyse morpho-fonctionnelle précise de l'épaule, notamment au niveau de l'articulation glénohumérale (GH), permettrait d'améliorer notre compréhension des dysfonctions de l'épaule associées aux ruptures de la coiffe des rotateurs. Cependant, des difficultés techniques compliquent l'analyse de la morphologie et du mouvement de l'épaule dans un contexte clinique. Dans le cadre de la présente thèse, une méthode d'analyse 3D des translations GH basée sur l'acquisition de séquences de radiographies biplanes sous EOS™ a été développée. Une étude pilote sur 10 sujets sains a d'abord permis de vérifier la facilité d'application d'un protocole d'acquisition des images et d'évaluer la répétabilité de l'identification des repères anatomiques de l'épaule sur les radiographies. La méthode proposée en dernier lieu permet, suite à l'acquisition de radiographies, de reconstruire un modèle personnalisé morpho-réaliste de la scapula et un modèle simplifié de l'humérus. Ces modèles sont ensuite recalés interactivement sur les images acquises à différentes positions du bras et utilisés pour décrire les translations GH à ces positions. La méthode a été validée en termes de précision et de répétabilité sur des images acquises d'épaules cadavériques et de patients ayant des ruptures de la coiffe des rotateurs. La dernière partie du travail présenté ici consiste à appliquer la méthode développée à 30 sujets (25 patients et 5 sujets sains) pour lesquels l'état de la coiffe des rotateurs et la fonction de l'épaule ont été évalués, puis à étudier les corrélations entre les translations GH et la fonction de l'épaule

Development and validation of a method for evaluating 3dglenohumeral translations with eos™

L'analyse morpho-fonctionnelle précise de l'épaule, notamment au niveau de l'articulation glénohumérale (GH), permettrait d'améliorer notre compréhension des dysfonctions de l'épaule associées aux ruptures de la coiffe des rotateurs. Cependant, des difficultés techniques compliquent l'analyse de la morphologie et du mouvement de l'épaule dans un contexte clinique. Dans le cadre de la présente thèse, une méthode d'analyse 3D des translations GH basée sur l'acquisition de séquences de radiographies biplanes sous EOS™ a été développée. Une étude pilote sur 10 sujets sains a d'abord permis de vérifier la facilité d'application d'un protocole d'acquisition des images et d'évaluer la répétabilité de l'identification des repères anatomiques de l'épaule sur les radiographies. La méthode proposée en dernier lieu permet, suite à l'acquisition de radiographies, de reconstruire un modèle personnalisé morpho-réaliste de la scapula et un modèle simplifié de l'humérus. Ces modèles sont ensuite recalés interactivement sur les images acquises à différentes positions du bras et utilisés pour décrire les translations GH à ces positions. La méthode a été validée en termes de précision et de répétabilité sur des images acquises d'épaules cadavériques et de patients ayant des ruptures de la coiffe des rotateurs. La dernière partie du travail présenté ici consiste à appliquer la méthode développée à 30 sujets (25 patients et 5 sujets sains) pour lesquels l'état de la coiffe des rotateurs et la fonction de l'épaule ont été évalués, puis à étudier les corrélations entre les translations GH et la fonction de l'épaule.Precise morpho-functional analysis of the shoulder, including of the glenohumeral (GH) joint, would allow improving our understanding of shoulder dysfunction associated to rotator cuff tears. However, technical difficulties make analysis of shoulder morphology and motion difficult in a clinical setting. The work carried out during this thesis allowed developing a method for 3D analysis of GH translations relying on the acquisition of sequences of biplanar radiographs with the EOS™ system. A pilot study carried out on 10 healthy subjects allowed verifying the ease of application of an image acquisition protocol and evaluating the repeatability of shoulder landmark identification on the radiographs. The final proposed method allows, following the acquisition of radiographs, obtaining a personalized morphologically realistic reconstruction of the scapula and a simplified model of the humerus. These models are then interactively registered to the images acquired at different arm positions and used to describe GH translations for these positions. The proposed method was validated in terms of precision and repeatability on images acquired of cadaveric shoulders and of patients with rotator cuff tears. The last part of the work presented here consists in applying the developed method to 30 subjects (25 patients and 5 asymptomatic subjects) for whom rotator cuff condition and shoulder function were assessed, and to study correlations between GH translations and shoulder function