Thoracic Volumes Correlated With Pulmonary Function Tests in Adult Scoliosis Patients Following Different Treatments in Adolescence

Abstract

In this paper, a previously developed medical software using orthogonal frontal and lateral X-rays is employed to reconstruct the rib cage and thoracic volume for scoliosis patients. The thoracic volumes of ten adult scoliosis patients with different treatments during their adolescence are followed up. This study provides an evidence that thoracic volume measurement can be used to infer the pulmonary function for spine deformity patients with moderate to severe scoliosis Cobb angle. Based on the calculation of the thoracic volumes in scoliosis patients, we correlate the parameters in the pulmonary function test to the measured thoracic volume through our software. The findings show the strong correlation between total lung capacity and the thoracic volume, and a significant correlation between the vital capacity/residual volume and the thoracic volume. An interpretation of the findings, limitation, and the future application are pointed out.