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Current treatment recommendations involve preoperative selective arterial embolization, intralesional excision curettage, bone grafting, and fusion of the affected area if instability is present.

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Pore interconnectivity within scaffolds is an important parameter influencing cell migration and tissue ingrowth needed to promote tissue regeneration. Methods for assessment of interconnectivity are usually qualitative, restricted to two-dimensional images, or are destructive. Microcomputed tomography nondestructively provides three-dimensional (3D) images of intact specimens at high spatial resolutions. We describe an image analysis technique for quantitative assessment of scaffold interconnectivity. Scaffolds were made via a particulate leaching process with 75%, 80%, 85%, and 88% volumetric porogen fractions. Specimens were scanned and resulting 3D, digital images were analyzed with a custom algorithm. A series of virtual, idealized scaffolds were also created for illustration of the algorithm's analysis approach and for its validation. The program calculated accessible void fractions over a range of minimum connection sizes. In real specimens, nearly 100% of the porous volume was connected with outside air for connections greater than or equal to 20 microm in their smallest dimension. In scaffolds made with 75% porogen, the accessible void fraction decreased to 78% if only those connections greater than or equal to 260 microm were considered. The relationship between accessible void fraction and connection size varied as a function of porogen content. The interconnectivity parameter described here may have implications for cell migration and tissue growth into scaffolds.