Comparison of cone beam computed tomography and plane radiographs of radial fractures as a basis for radiographical measurements

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to determine whether radiological measurements of radial fracture position made in cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) projection images are comparable to those made on traditional radiographs and could potentially substitute them. METHODS: Sixteen patients with fractures of the distal radius referred for radiographs were recruited for an additional CBCT scan which was performed immediately afterwards. Projection images and volumetric data were saved from the CBCT scans. Measurements of ulnar variance, radial inclination and volar tilt were made from all three sets of images. RESULTS: Agreement of projection image based measurements with radiographs was nearly as good as as the agreement of cross sectional image measurements with radiographs. The average difference between the results for projection images and radiographs were -1.2 mm (SD 1.9 mm), for radial inclination 0.7° (SD 2.9°) and for volar tilt 1.9° (SD 5.6°). CONCLUSION: Differences between radiological measurements between the modalities studied are small and projection images could be used for the assessment of distal radial fractures. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12880-023-01093-4.