Abstract: A method of deriving a quantitative measure of a degree of calcification of a blood vessel such as an aorta by processing an image such as an X-ray image of at least a part of the blood vessel containing said calcification comprises: taking a starting set of digital data representative of an image of at least part of a blood vessel containing a calcification set against a background; estimating the boundary of the calcification; using inpainting to replace digital data in said starting set representing the calcification with data extrapolating the boundary of the background to extend over the area of calcification, and so generating an inpainted set of digital data; and computing the difference between the starting set of digital data and the inpainted set of digital data to obtain a quantitative measure of the degree of calcification of the blood vessel.

Abstract: A method for the analysis of three dimensional scan data representing an articular cartilage is provided to extract a quantitative parameter indicative of joint pathology. A measure representative of cartilage homogeneity is derived from this three dimensional image data. The measured value is compared with similar measured values previously established in respect of healthy joints and/or joints characterised by a pathology.

Abstract: A method of processing data derived from an image of at least part of a spine is provided for estimating the risk of a future fracture in vertebrae of the spine. Position data relating to at least four neighbouring vertebrae of the spine is processed. The curvature of the spine at least two of the neighbouring vertebrae is calculated. The different curvature values are computed to obtain a value representative of the degree of irregularity in curvature of the spine and using the degree of irregularity, an estimate of the risk of a future fracture in vertebrae of the spine is provided. A higher degree of irregularity indicates a higher risk of future fracture.

Abstract: A computer based calculation of a prognostic index I of osteoarthritis based on biochemical and imaging based biomarkers a mathematical combination of said values, wherein a first imaging based biomarker is a measure of the quantity of a cartilage in a joint compartment, a second imaging based biomarker relating to the quality of said cartilage in said joint compartment, and wherein a value of said first biomarker indicative of a larger quantity of cartilage affects the index to make it predictive of more disease progression, and a value of said second biochemical marker indicative of a greater departure from the quality of disease free cartilage affects the index to make it predictive of more risk of disease progression, exemplified by I = yHom + zVol + ? n = 1 N ? a n ? Other n where y and z are numerical coefficients, Hom is the measured homogeneity, Vol is the measured cartilage volume, and where Othern represents N further biomarkers each having a respective numerical coefficient an

Abstract: A method of deriving a quantitative measure of a degree of calcification of a blood vessel such as an aorta by processing an image such as an X-ray image of at least a part of the blood vessel containing said calcification comprises: taking a starting set of digital data representative of an image of at least part of a blood vessel containing a calcification set against a background; estimating the boundary of the calcification; using inpainting to replace digital data in said starting set representing the calcification with data extrapolating the boundary of the background to extend over the area of calcification, and so generating an inpainted set of digital data; and computing the difference between the starting set of digital data and the inpainted set of digital data to obtain a quantitative measure of the degree of calcification of the blood vessel.