Thoracolumbar fractures classification using the smartphone

A recent clinical study found that diagnosing and classifying thoracolumbar fractures using a portable smartphone is as reliable as using a workstation-based picture archiving communication system (PACS) (1). This reliability is comparable to studies of reliability based on the use of PACS work-stations only (2). Substantial agreement for the AO and the Denis classifications was found. The AOspine thoracolumbar spine Injury classification system (AO-TLICS) strongly influences management, with fractures scoring more than five points considered surgical candidates (3); fractures classified as B2 fractures would score 6 points, B3 score 7 points, and C score 8 points (Figure 1). Unsurprisingly, a statistical correlation is seen between the agreement of fracture management and the grading of fracture severity using the AO-TLICS quantification score.