Frontiers corrects canine bone morphology paper funding record

A new correction in Frontiers in Veterinary Science updates a 2024 canine orthopedics paper by adding a previously omitted funding statement from the University of Zürich. The correction, published in 2026, applies to Statistical shape modeling of the geometric morphology of the canine femur, tibia, and patella, a study that introduced baseline statistical shape models for normal canine stifle bones. Based on the journal record now available, the change is administrative rather than scientific, with no indication that the article’s findings, methods, or interpretation were altered. (frontiersin.org)

The original article was published July 10, 2024, and came from investigators affiliated with the University of Zurich, Colorado State University, and National Taiwan University. It set out to address a practical gap in veterinary orthopedics: while individual angular measurements of the canine femur and tibia are commonly used, there has been less whole-bone, three-dimensional modeling of normal morphology across breeds and body sizes. Frontiers’ publication policies also make clear that funding disclosures are required elements of the manuscript record, which helps explain why an omitted statement would trigger a formal correction. (frontiersin.org)

In the original research, the authors retrospectively collected 97 CT scans from three institutions and ultimately analyzed subsets of complete femora, tibiae, tibial plateaus, and patellae after excluding dogs with clinical orthopedic abnormalities. Their central finding was that the first principal mode of variation was overwhelmingly driven by scale, accounting for more than 90% of total variation across groups, while just two to three modes captured more than 99% of shape variation in some analyses. The authors argued that this supports the use of statistical shape modeling as a baseline reference for future work on diseased bones and digital orthopedic tools. (frontiersin.org)

That context matters because the paper sits within a broader shift toward CT-based, three-dimensional planning in canine orthopedics. Related recent Frontiers papers have looked at automated femoral angle measurements for dogs with patellar luxation, axial tibial-metatarsal alignment, and image-based kinematic mapping for cruciate reconstruction planning, all pointing toward more model-driven assessment of canine hindlimb anatomy. In that setting, even a narrow correction about funding disclosure matters because these studies may inform future surgical planning workflows, reference datasets, and software development. (frontiersin.org)

I did not find independent expert commentary specifically reacting to this correction, which is not unusual for a disclosure-only notice. Still, the original article’s clinical framing is clear: the authors said whole-bone shape analysis could eventually help distinguish normal from pathologic stifles without relying only on manual measurements, and could support landmark identification for surgery. That aligns with other orthopedic literature noting persistent variability and limited standardization in femoral and tibial alignment assessment in dogs. (frontiersin.org)

Why it matters: For veterinarians, specialists, and researchers, this correction is less about changing practice today and more about maintaining trust in the research record behind emerging imaging and planning tools. The underlying study remains potentially useful as a normative reference for future work in patellar luxation, torsional deformity, and stifle biomechanics. But because these models may eventually be used to classify abnormal anatomy or guide intervention, accurate disclosure of institutional support is part of the credibility package, especially when the source institution also controls access to the CT dataset. (frontiersin.org)

What to watch: The immediate next step is the final formatted correction notice from Frontiers. Beyond that, the bigger story is whether this baseline model is validated in clinically affected dogs, especially in medial patellar luxation and other deformity populations where three-dimensional planning is already gaining traction. (frontiersin.org)