Figure 3.

Techniques for the assessment of bone quality and bone competence. Mechanical tests (dark gray bars), imaging techniques to study geometry and microarchitecture (medium gray bars) and techniques to analyze tissue composition (light gray bars) are indicated in logarithmic scale, according to their spatial resolution. The techniques include dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), Fourier transform infrared imaging (FTIR), high-resolution micro-computed tomography (HR micro-CT), high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT), in vivo micro-computed tomography (in vivo micro-CT), micro-magnetic resonance imaging (micro-MRI), phase contrast-based computed tomography (pc imaging), quantitative backscattered electron imaging (qBEI), scanning acoustic microscopy (SAM) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). Adapted from Donnelly29 with kind permission.