Prospective Hounsfield Unit Measurements of Intercorporal Bone Grafts Remodelling Towards Spinal Fusion
Instrumented lumbar fusion surgery is often accompanied by interbody fusion using an autologous bone graft that is supposed to expand and remodel to achieve a rigid and lasting bony construction between two vertebrae. However, there is a dearth of knowledge regarding the process of biological remodelling of intercorporal bone grafts. Also, a valid and reliable assessment of fusion status remains challenging because there is no objective tool available to quantify the bone remodelling process. CT-based Hounsfield Units correlate with Bone Mineral Density and can be used as a proxy to establish trajectories over time to assess changes in bone mineral density from the bone graft.
• non-responsiveness to non-operative treatment in the six months prior to study enrolment
• fusion indicated for only one segment in the L1 to S1/ilium region
• between the age of 45 and 80.