METHODS

Three-dimensional (3D) computed tomographic (CT) images of 56 subjects (28 males and 28 females) lying supine were obtained from a public image archive (Cancer Image Archive, website: www.cancerimagingarchive.net). 3D solid models of pelvis and spine were generated from the CT images. Two coordinate systems, pelvic and global body coordinate systems, were established. The pelvic coordinate system was established based on four bony landmarks on the pelvis: the bilateral anterior superior iliac spines (RASIS and LASIS) and the bilateral pubic tubercles (RPT and LPT). The global body coordinate system was generated based on the bony landmarks on the spine: the geometric centers of five lumbar vertebrae bodies and the most dorsal points of five corresponding spinous processes, as well as the anterior sacral promontory (Fig 1a and 1b). The acetabular rim plane was obtained by fitting a set of point along the acetabular rim to a plane using least squares method. The acetabular orientation was defined as the three coordinate components (x-, y- and z- components) of the unit normal vector of the acetabular rim plane in the two coordinate systems (Fig. 1c).