The electron density of bone for inhomogeneity correction in radiotherapy planning using CT numbers

Abstract

A CT scanner has been used to measure the electron density of a range of bone types in vivo. It is shown that there is a linear relationship between the CT number of bone and its electron density, which is expected theoretically if different bone types are treated as a variable mixture of osseous material and marrow. A method of calibrating any CT scanner using a simply prepared solution is proposed, which should enable electron densities of bone to be estimated from CT numbers with an accuracy of 5%.