Weight-Bearing CT Is Changing How We Measure the Foot
Three-dimensional imaging under load reveals alignment that plain films and supine CT can miss.
Podiatrify Clinical Editorial Team, Editorial Staff
Podiatric Medicine & Research
- Published
- Published Aug 24, 2026
- Last reviewed
- Last reviewed Aug 24, 2026
- Reading time
- 3 min read
- Audience
- Clinicians
- Evidence level
- Emerging Evidence
Clinical summary
Cone-beam weight-bearing CT gives 3D images of the foot while standing. It is increasingly used in hallux valgus, flatfoot, and hindfoot alignment assessment. Measurement standards are still being built.
Patient view: plain-language reading.
What it adds
Standing 3D imaging shows metatarsal rotation, subtalar alignment, and peritalar subluxation under physiologic load, which supine CT cannot capture.
Limits
Access, cost, and a lack of universally agreed measurement protocols remain barriers. Radiographs are still the first-line study for most foot and ankle complaints.
References
- 1.Weight Bearing CT International Study Group publications. Verify specific papers before citing.
Summaries are editorial. Verify details against the original publications.
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