Evaluating the Measuring Software Package Metron-PX for Morphometric Description of Equine Hoof Radiographs

Abstract Reasons for performing the study Radiography is still the most common diagnostic tool to assess hoof injury in horses. Radiologic measurements are important in the evaluation of the quality of hoof trimming or displacement of the pedal bone in laminitic hooves. A specific program called Metron-PX was designed to measure distances and angles in the hoof. The purpose of this study was to determine the exactness of the radiologic measurements obtained with this program. Design In vitro, experimental study. Procedure Evaluation of the software Metron-PX was based on 88 radiographs taken of 2 forelimbs of 2 orthopedically sound horses that were humanely euthanized for reasons unrelated to this study. In a total of 33 parameters obtained from the dorsopalmar and lateromedial radiographs, the effect caused by repeated measurements of the same digitalized radiograph in 2 magnifications, the radiographic technique, and different operators was evaluated. On the lateromedial radiograph, these measurements were compared with the corresponding sagittal section of the anatomic specimens (anatomic standard). Results Statistically significant differences were seen among the measurements obtained of the 33 parameters in the 4 different tests. These differences correspond to the low values of the variation coefficient of the measurements taken in each test and the difficulty of cutting the foot precisely in the sagittal plane that coincides with the radiographic projection. Conclusions and clinical relevance Even though there are differences among the measurements in the 4 tests, most of them are not considered clinically relevant. The radiographic technique and the Metron-PX software can be used to objectively measure most of the parameters predefined by the software.

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