Patients treated with radiation therapy for metastatic disease of the spine suffer high risk for pathologic spinal fractures (PVF) – up to 39% sustaining a fracture within 6 months. Clinical guidelines for estimating fracture risk remain subjective, and improved, individualized prediction of PVF risk would facilitate selection of whether, how, and when to intervene. This study will examine whether estimates of spinal loading to vertebral strength will improve predictions of the risk of PVF compared to current clinical protocols in a patient cohort. Our lab is obtaining spine curvature and muscular measurements from CT data, then generating patient-specific musculoskeletal models to assess biomechanical loads experienced when doing everyday tasks, such as opening a window or getting up from bed. Such a quantitative assessment of biomechanical risk could fill a significant gap in the ability to evaluate and treat these patients. This study is a collaboration with Ron Alkalay, Ph.D., in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery.
