4.5. Measurement of Bone Structure Using Micro-Computed Tomography (CT)

Analyses were conducted as previously described [59]. Briefly, the morphometric parameters of the bones (femur and tibia) were determined using a micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) system (Skyscan 1272, Bruker micro-CT, Kontich, Belgium). Specifically, the tissue volume (TV), bone volume (BV), bone volume/tissue volume (BV/TV), bone surface (BS), bone surface/tissue volume (BS/TV), trabecular thickness (Tb.Th), trabecular separation (Tb.Sp), trabecular pattern factor (Tb.Pf), structure model indices (SMIs), and trabecular number (Tb.N) were evaluated. The results were visualized using two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) images, and the CTAn (CT-Analyser) software (Skyscan, Kontich, Belgium) was used to analyze the structural parameters of the trabecular bone. In addition, the CTvol software was used to regenerate 3D images of the trabecular bone. The specifications of the micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) system (SkyScan 1272, Bruker micro-CT, Kontich, Belgium) were as follows: bone scans were taken with a source voltage of 70 kV and a source current of 142 μA. The resolution was set to 13.27 μm and the rotation step was 0.2°. The image reconstruction was performed using the NRecon software (1.1.9, SkyScan, Kontich, Belgium).