Title: Evaluation of fusion status after spine fusion surgery: a comprehensive review
Asian Spine J. 2026;20(3):604–614
DOI: 10.31616/asj.2025.0465
https://asianspinejournal.org/journal/view.php?doi=10.31616/asj.2025.0465

本学に留学されたGun Woo Lee 先生（Yeungnam University）と昭和医科大学整形外科学講座との国際共同研究が「Asian Spine Journal」に掲載されました。Wook-Tae Park 先生、百々 悠介 先生、平野 貴大 先生が共同筆頭著者として本研究を行いました。本研究では、脊椎固定術後の骨癒合評価について、X線、CT、MRI、核医学検査など、現在用いられている画像評価法の特徴と課題を包括的に検討しました。CTは現時点で最も精度の高い評価法である一方、放射線被曝や評価基準の標準化などの課題もあり、今後は新たな画像技術やAIを活用した、より客観的で再現性の高い骨癒合評価法の確立が期待されます。

An international collaborative study between Dr. Gun Woo Lee of Yeungnam University, who previously studied at our institution, and the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Showa Medical University has been published in Asian Spine Journal. Dr. Wook-Tae Park, Dr. Yusuke Dodo, and Dr. Takahiro Hirano contributed equally as co-first authors. This study comprehensively reviewed the characteristics and limitations of currently available imaging modalities for assessing fusion status after spinal fusion surgery, including radiography, CT, MRI, and nuclear medicine imaging. Although CT currently provides the highest diagnostic accuracy for assessing spinal fusion, challenges remain, including radiation exposure and the lack of standardized assessment criteria. Further advances in imaging technologies and artificial intelligence are expected to enable more objective and reproducible evaluation of spinal fusion in the future.