Somatom 16

We evaluated CT-studies (SOMATOM 16, Siemens, Erlangen, Germany, 120-kilovolt, 180-milliampere-second, axial slices) with a slice thickness of 0.6 millimetres (mm) (only the bony fabella could be registered with the CT-method). Three-dimensional (3D) reconstructions (ANALYZE 11.0, Biomedical Imaging Resource, Mayo Foundation, Rochester, USA; VGStudio Max 2.2, Heidelberg, Germany) were orientated in coronal posterior view for determination of the location of the fabella. To gain comparable data, a size-independent measurement grid system was applied on the PLFC to allocate the corresponding coordinates to the centre of the fabella (Figures 1(a)–1(c)). The determined location coordinates of every fabella were superimposed on one reconstructed 3D-sample of the PLFC with respect to the anatomical orientation for final evaluation.
To determine the size of the fabella, the largest diameter (x) was measured (SOMATOM 16, Siemens, Erlangen, Germany) in coronal posterior view, regardless of the anatomical knee-axes. For the second dimension, the largest diameter of the corresponding perpendicular orientation (y) was used.

Assessment of calcium burden was performed on an ECG-gated 16-slice scanner (Siemens Somatom16, Siemens, Forchheim, Germany) [33 (link)]. All coronary artery calcification (CAC) data sets were analyzed by a single technician with more than 5 years of experience in cardiac CT imaging using a commercially available software package (“Syngo CaScore”; Siemens Healthcare, Forchheim, Germany). Patients with coronary artery stents were excluded from analysis as the stent graft would have yielded false-high calcification scores.