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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Veterinary Neurology and Neurosurgery
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2024.1448188

Quan%fica%on of metallic ar%fact on CT associated with %tanium pedicle screws

Provisionally accepted
Melissa J. Lewis Melissa J. Lewis 1*Peter Early Peter Early 1Robert Bergman Robert Bergman 2Kim Love Kim Love 3Nathan Nelson Nathan Nelson 1
  • 1 North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Raleigh, United States
  • 2 Independent researcher, Fort Mill, SC, United States
  • 3 Independent researcher, Athens, GA, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: In dogs undergoing vertebral column stabilization, post-operative computed tomography (CT) evaluates implant placement. The impact on interpretation of metallic artifact associated with titanium implants in dogs remains to be established. Our objective was to quantify metallic artifact on CT associated with titanium pedicle screws. Methods: Study design included an in vitro model and retrospective review of 11 dogs with vertebral column stabilization. Twenty-four titanium pedicle screws (6 each: 2.0mm, 2.7mm, 3.5mm, 4.5mm) were placed into a 20% ballistic gel, and CT of the construct was performed. Three blinded raters measured maximum width (effective size) for each screw using a bone window; one rater measured effective size using an ultrawide window and 45 titanium pedicle screws (3x2.0mm, 5x2.7mm, 30x3.5mm, 7x4.5mm) in 11 clinical cases. Effective size measurements were compared to actual screw sizes. Results: Effective size was 26.9-43.8%, 9.2-18.5%, and 21.1-30.5% larger than actual size for the in vitro system (bone window), the in vitro system (ultrawide window), and clinical cases, respectively. Mean gross difference for the in vitro measurements varied by implant size (p < 0.001) and positively correlated with implant size (r = 0.846), but mean percentage difference negatively correlated with implant size (p < 0.001). Overestimation was larger for the in vitro model bone window compared to the ultrawide window (p < 0.001) and clinical cases (p = 0.001). Conclusions: Metallic artifact associated with titanium pedicle screws on CT resulted in overestimation of screw size. This information might aid in interpretation of implant placement on post-operative imaging.

    Keywords: vertebral column, dog, Canal breach, bloom artifact, stabilization

    Received: 12 Jun 2024; Accepted: 08 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Lewis, Early, Bergman, Love and Nelson. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Melissa J. Lewis, North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Raleigh, United States

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.