In this paper we consider the spatial orientation of vertebrae. We take the view that, in determining their rotation angles from X-rays, the procedure applied by Drerup yields the most reliable empirical results, viz. the three angles through which a vertebra rotates about its own symmetry axes in a specific sequence. With a view to the further use of this information to analyze deformations or the motion of a spine we recommend that the Drerup angles be converted into the well-known Eulerian angles. How this can be done is the subject of this report.
Issue Section:
Technical Briefs
1.
Drerup
, B.
, 1984
, “Principles of Measurement of Vertebral Rotation From Frontal Projections of the Pedicles
,” J. Biomechanics
, 17
, pp. 923
–935
.2.
Goldstein, H., 1959, Classical Mechanics, Addison-Wesley, Reading, PA.
3.
Skalli
, W.
, Lavaste
, F.
, and Descrimes
, J.
, 1995
, “Quantification of Three-Dimensional Vertebral Rotations in Scoliosis: What are the True Values?
” Spine
, 20
, pp. 546
–550
.4.
Whittaker, E. T., 1961, A Treatise on the Analytical Dynamics of Particles and Rigid Bodies, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Copyright © 2002
by ASME
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