| Title: | Analysis of leg bone lengths from whole body DXA in the UK Biobank |
| Journal: | BJR|Artificial Intelligence |
| Published: | 28 Aug 2026 |
| DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1093/bjrai/ubag014 |
| URL: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/bjrai/ubag014 |
Publication 20865
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Abstract
To calculate the distributions of leg bone lengths (as measured from DXA images) and their relationship with height. Estimating human height from long bone measurements is widely used in forensic and biological anthropology. An automated system was developed to locate the outlines of the femur and tibia in DXA images from the UKBiobank. These were used to measure the length of the bones. Images with implants, severe abnormalities or missing data were excluded. Relationships between lengths and with height were estimated using linear regression. Of the 73,405 available DXA images, we successfully measured both femurs and tibia in 66,730 cases (91%). The lengths of femurs and tibias for males and females each show normal distributions, with left and right being very similar. The mean absolute difference between measurements at two time points was below 1.8mm (femur), 2.3mm (tibia), showing the system is repeatable. Linear regression gives the relationships between individual bone lengths and between them and height. The developed software system and the resulting analysis provide promising insights into bone geometry using DXA imaging, enabling large-scale, precise bone measurements. These models are relevant for predicting height, a subject of interest in archaeology and forensic science. This is the largest study of the distributions of leg bone lengths and their relationship to height that we are aware of.</p>
3 Authors
- Faten Alomar
- Junkai Wang
- Timothy F Cootes
1 Application
| Application ID | Title |
|---|---|
| 17295 | AUtomated Generation of Musculoskeletal phENotypes from the UK biobank exTended imaging study (AUGMENT Study) |
Enabling scientific discoveries that improve human health