Regional variations in the thickness of cervical spine endplates as measured by computed tomography

Purpose: To determine regional variations in the thickness Of human cervical spine endplates with high spatial resolution. Material and Methods: Six explanted human cadaveric spine specimens underwent Computed tomography (CT) scanning. Measurement of endplate thickness was done fully automatically at every point of the endplate using a computer program written specifically for this purpose. Variations in thickness along sagittal and coronal lines were determined and statistical parametric mapping was used to test for significant regional variations at every point. Results: Anterior and medial aspects of superior endplates were shown to be significantly thinner than lateral and dorsal parts. Superior endplates were found to be thicker than inferior endplates. Conclusion: Fully automatic assessment of endplate thickness from CT data is feasible. Central regions of the cervical spine endplates Lire thinner than peripheral parts of the endplates. This distribution is more pronounced in superior than in inferior endplates.