Automated microdensitometric quantification of bone ingrowth into porous implants.

The aim of this study was to develop a technique of automated histometric quantification of bone ingrowth into porous implant bodies that minimizes errors of volume determination arising from the section thickness of histologic specimens. A theoretical and experimental deduction is provided for the calculation of implant and bone layer thicknesses from the grey levels of microradiographs made from thick-section specimens. The presented method allows rapid raising of large amounts of histometric data when a computer-aided video system is available. A histologic preparation of specimens that permits the spatial reconstruction of the examined implant volume and analysis of three-dimensional distribution of bone ingrowth is suggested.