Three-Dimensional Morphometric Analysis of Lumbar Vertebral End Plate Anatomy

Telvinderjit Singh; William Chase Harington Parr; Wen Jie Choy; Gideon Richard Budiono; Monish Maharaj; Xavier Mathis; Kevin Phan; William Robert Walsh; Ralph Jasper Mobbs

doi:10.1016/j.wneu.2019.11.158

Three-Dimensional Morphometric Analysis of Lumbar Vertebral End Plate Anatomy

World Neurosurg. 2020 Mar:135:e321-e332. doi: 10.1016/j.wneu.2019.11.158. Epub 2019 Dec 3.

Authors

Telvinderjit Singh¹, William Chase Harington Parr², Wen Jie Choy³, Gideon Richard Budiono³, Monish Maharaj³, Xavier Mathis⁴, Kevin Phan³, William Robert Walsh⁵, Ralph Jasper Mobbs⁶

Affiliations

¹ NeuroSpine Surgery Research Group (NSURG), Prince of Wales Private Hospital, Randwick, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; NeuroSpine Clinic, Department of Neurosurgery, Prince of Wales Private Hospital, Randwick, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Randwick, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; Surgical and Orthopaedic Research Laboratories, Prince of Wales Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Randwick, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Electronic address: telvinder95@yahoo.com.
² NeuroSpine Surgery Research Group (NSURG), Prince of Wales Private Hospital, Randwick, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Randwick, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; Surgical and Orthopaedic Research Laboratories, Prince of Wales Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Randwick, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; 3D Morphic Pty Ltd., Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
³ NeuroSpine Surgery Research Group (NSURG), Prince of Wales Private Hospital, Randwick, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; NeuroSpine Clinic, Department of Neurosurgery, Prince of Wales Private Hospital, Randwick, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Randwick, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
⁴ NeuroSpine Surgery Research Group (NSURG), Prince of Wales Private Hospital, Randwick, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; Surgical and Orthopaedic Research Laboratories, Prince of Wales Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Randwick, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; 3D Morphic Pty Ltd., Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; Faculty of Engineering, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
⁵ NeuroSpine Surgery Research Group (NSURG), Prince of Wales Private Hospital, Randwick, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Randwick, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; Surgical and Orthopaedic Research Laboratories, Prince of Wales Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Randwick, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
⁶ NeuroSpine Surgery Research Group (NSURG), Prince of Wales Private Hospital, Randwick, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; NeuroSpine Clinic, Department of Neurosurgery, Prince of Wales Private Hospital, Randwick, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Randwick, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; Surgical and Orthopaedic Research Laboratories, Prince of Wales Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Randwick, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

PMID: 31809892
DOI: 10.1016/j.wneu.2019.11.158

Abstract

Background: Information on the three-dimensional (3D) shape of vertebral end plates is lacking. Previous studies have analyzed two-dimensional shape; however, 3D data are important because they may help improve our understanding of how differences in shape are related to age, gender, race, size, and other parameters, which may subsequently help improve device design for interbody prosthesis.

Objective: To study the 3D shape of lumbar vertebral end plates from normal adult lumbar spines and correlate them with age, gender, spinal/end plate level, end plate surface area, concave depth, and size.

Methods: An in vivo analysis was undertaken of lumbar vertebral end plate 3D shape. A total of 136 patients' computed tomography scans were used to create 3D models of the lumbar spine for each patient, which were subsequently analyzed.

Results: The shape of the superior end plates is different compared with inferior end plates. Across the lumbar spine (L1-S1), the shape of inferior end plates is similar; however, the shape of the superior end plate varies between spinal levels significantly. There was no clear relationship between age and principal component (PC) shapes but there was a strong correlation between end plate concave depth and end plate PC shape scores.

Conclusions: Future interbody (disc replacement and fusion) device designs could use the findings that inferior end plate shape is similar throughout the length of the lumbar spine, whereas superior end plate shape changes. Further, future implants could be level-specific because the present study shows that end plate shape varies through the length of the lumbar spine.

Keywords: Age; Concave depth; Gender; Geometric morphometric method; Spinal level; Three-dimensional shape; Vertebral end plate.

MeSH terms

Adult
Biomechanical Phenomena / physiology
Bone Plates
Equipment Design*
Female
Humans
Intervertebral Disc / surgery*
Lumbar Vertebrae / surgery*
Lumbosacral Region / surgery*
Male
Middle Aged
Tomography, X-Ray Computed / methods