Comparison of scoliosis diagnostic capabilities in screening of schoolchildren by computer optical topography and video rasterstereography using TODP and Formetric topographs

Objective. To analyze the results of scoliosis diagnostics during the examination of the same group of schoolchildren by TODP and Formetriс topographs.

Material and Methods. A total of 364 schoolchildren (197 girls and 167 boys, mean age 8.92 ± 1.9 years) were examined, divided into 3 age groups: 6–8 years old (n = 135, mean age 7.22 ± 0.7 years), 8–10 years old (n = 134 children, mean age 8.95 ± 0.56 years), 10–12 years old (n = 95 children, mean age 11.35 ± 1.59 years). Schoolchildren were examined in turn by computer optical topography (TODP, released in 2021, WTOPO 5.4-2021 software) and video raster stereography (Formetric 4D released in 2015, DICAM2.6.4 software). Three standard screening poses were used for TODP, and one pose with averaging 12 frames – for Formetric.

Results. The obtained statistics on the distribution of topographic analogs of the Cobb angle (the angle of lateral asymmetry for TODP and the angle of scoliosis for Formetric) showed a significant discrepancy in the percentage of detected scoliosis cases: 0–5° – 50,0 % (TODP) and 4.1 % (Formetric); 5–7° – 33.8 % and 9.3 %; 7–9° – 12.4 % and 17.9 %; 9–15° – 3.8 % and 51.6 %; 15–25° – 0,0 % and 16.2 %; 25–50° – 0,0 % and 0.8 %, respectively. Clinically significant cases of scoliosis (9° or more) in the age groups was 3.7 %, 2.2 %, 6.6 % (mean – 3.8 %) for TODP and 71.1 %, 70.1 %, 63.2 % (average – 68.7 %) for Formetric. At the same time, only 14 cases of clinically significant scoliosis (from 9° to 15°), including 9 structural and 5 compensatory scoliosis, were detected by TODP, and 250 scoliosis cases (188 – from 9° to 15°, 59 – from 15° to 25°, 3 – from 25° to 37°) – by Formetric. For 9 structural scoliosis cases (according to TODP), the Formetric diagnosis coincided completely only in 2 cases and  partially in 3 (55 %), and in 5 cases of compensatory scoliosis (according to TODP) it coincided completely in 3 cases and partially in 1 (80 %).

Conclusion. According to the results of topographic screening of 364 schoolchildren using the TODP topograph, 3.8 % of scoliosis cases of 9° or more was detected, which corresponds to the average screening data in a number of countries around the world. Examination of the same schoolchildren using the Formetric topograph revealed 68.7 % of cases of scoliosis of 9° or more, which allows us to judge about overdiagnosis and conclude that Formetric is poorly suited for topographic screening of scoliosis in schoolchildren.

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