Full body imaging allows doctors to see the origin of sagittal imbalance.

Full body imaging using one specific technology is being endorsed by the European Spine Journal as an important method for examining sagittal spinal balance. Developed by EOS imaging, the technology can help a doctor diagnose the origin of sagittal imbalance.

"Sagittal alignment depends on a fragile relationship between spine curvatures, pelvic shape and position of lower extremities," said Jean-Charles Le Huec, MD, chief of the spine unit at France-based Bordeaux University Hospital, in a press release. "This alignment needs to be preserved, and often restored, by surgery. The more information we have the better treatment decisions we can make for the patient, and until now imaging had been limited in its ability to capture the whole body."

The technology can perform a full body image or a targeted image while exposing the patient to a radiation dosage that is nine times less than conventional computed radiography and more than 100 times less that one CT scan, according to the company. The 3-D image of the skeleton (obtained in either seated or standing positions) can be used to assess the patient's condition and for surgical planning.

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