抄録
The aim of this study was to develop a low-cost automated system to measure the three-dimensional curvature of the spine in patients with scoliosis. The conventional method for assessing the curvature of the spine in scoliosis is the Cobb method, which poses a health risk due to exposure to ionizing radiation. Therefore, several noninvasive methods for measuring the curvature of the spine have been developed; however, these have not yet gained widespread use in clinical practice.
We used a 3D camera to measure the curvature of the spine in 10 healthy young volunteers. An analysis of variance was used to show the difference in measurements of humps and twisted angles of the subjects' spines. The results for the hump measurement revealed an F value of 25.23 and a P value of <0.01, while those for the twisted angle measurement revealed an F value of 36.00 and a P value of <0.01.
Measurements of the curvature of the spine using our method were obtained in a short time (approximately 2 s). Therefore, this method can probably be applied to mass screening. The results confirmed the effectiveness of our 3D camera for measuring the curvature of the spine in patients with scoliosis.
