2.4. Micro-CT Analysis

Microcomputed tomography (micro-CT) was used to conduct quantitative 3D analysis of cortical and trabecular bone tissues. Within the cortical bone, regions of interest (ROIs), beginning at 5.2 mm from the growth plate at the distal end and extending 1.5 mm in the femoral midshaft, were analysed. The ROIs of trabecular bone started at 1.2 mm from the growth plate at the distal end and continued for 1.5 mm. High-resolution scans were obtained with a voxel size of 6.8 μm. The scanning conditions included 70 kV, 200 μA, 300 ms, 0.5 mm, and an aluminium filter. The micro-CT scans were obtained by μCT 50 (Scanco Medical). The standard analysis programme by Scanco was used to assess specific bone parameters as follows: relative bone volume with and without marrow cavity (%), bone mineral density (BMD; mg HA/ccm), bone surface (mm²), cortical bone thickness (mm), trabecular number (1/mm), and trabecular thickness (mm).