Abstract: A method for estimating the skeletal status or bone quality of a vertebrate on the basis of two-dimensional image data comprising information relating to the trabecular structure of at least a part of a bone of the vertebrate, the image data being data obtained by exposing at least the part of the bone to electromagnetic radiation, such as X-rays, the method comprising subjecting the image data to a statistical analysis comprising a background correction procedure in which low frequency intensity variations not related to the trabecular structure of the bone are reduced relative to image data related to the trabecular structure of the part of the bone, a feature extraction procedure comprising (a) determining values reflecting the projected trabecular density in the image data, caused by the X-ray attenuating properties of cancellous bone in the part of the bone, for each of a number of locations or areas in the image data, (b) deriving one or more features from the variation of the determined PTD-values, pre

Abstract: A method for estimating the bone quality, or skeletal status of a vertebrate on the basis of two-dimensional image data of cortical bone, and which is determined from a density variation of the cortical bone. Intra cortical resorption, scalloping, spongiosation, striation, periosteal resorption, and/or endosteal resorption caused by osteoporosis, osteopenia or hyperparathyroidism may be determined as oblong density variations detected by filtering the image data with two oblong Gaussian kernels (using a Difference Of Gaussian technique) or at corresponding frequencies in the power spectrum.