The strongest levels of evidence for reliability exists in support of the Debrunner kyphometer , Spinal Mouse and Flexicurve index , and for validity supports the arcometer and Flexicurve index .
BACKGROUND A wide array of instruments are available for non-invasive thoracic kyphosis measurement .
Guidelines for selecting outcome measures for use in clinical and research practice recommend that properties such as validity and reliability are considered .
This systematic review reports on the reliability and validity of non-invasive methods for measuring  thoracic kyphosis .
Prediction of thoracic kyphosis using the Debrunner kyphometer.
The Debrunner kyphometer is an accepted tool for detecting and evaluating  thoracic kyphosis .  This prospect i ve study was conducted to create a mathematical formula that provides , with high approximation , the roentgenographic angle of thoracic kyphosis ( T4-T12 ) using only the kyphometer . Several clinical ( kyphometer value , age , and sex ) and radiographic ( Cobb angle [ T4-T12 ] ) parameters from 90 consecutively screened adolescents ( 44 male and 46 female ) were correlated using simple and multiple linear regression analyses . The reliability of measurement using the Debrunner kyphometer was high . The kyphometer value was strongly correlated with the roentgenographically measured thoracic Cobb angle ( simple linear regression analysis ; probability range , 0.0026 to 0.0002 ) . There was no correlation between age or sex and thoracic kyphosis . The predicted kyphosis angle using the kyphometer and the mathematic formula was 44.66 degrees + /- 2.68 degrees , ( range 27 to 62 degrees ) , and the real roentgenographic kyphosis angle was 47.5 degrees + /- 3.53 degrees , ( range , 24 to 70 degrees ) . The kyphometer and formula were more reliable and accurate when kyphosis less than 50 degrees was measured . In this study , the authors constructed a mathematical formula that accurately provides the roentgenographic T4-T12 kyphosis angle in adolescents using only the Debrunner kyphometer with a deviation of less than 3 degrees . The authors recommend that all physicians engaged in kyphosis screening programs use the kyphometer combined with the recently constructed simple mathematic formula . This method will reduce the cost of school screening programs , overdiagnoses , and unnecessary exposure of adolescents to irradiation
The strongest levels of evidence for reliability exists in support of the Debrunner kyphometer , Spinal Mouse and Flexicurve index , and for validity supports the arcometer and Flexicurve index .
BACKGROUND A wide array of instruments are available for non-invasive thoracic kyphosis measurement .
Guidelines for selecting outcome measures for use in clinical and research practice recommend that properties such as validity and reliability are considered .
This systematic review reports on the reliability and validity of non-invasive methods for measuring  thoracic kyphosis .