Abstract
Bone strength is a worldwide health concern. Although multiple techniques have been developed to evaluate bone quality, there are still gaps to be filled. Here we report a non-invasive approach for the prediction of bone strength in vivo using spatially offset Raman spectroscopy. Raman spectra were acquired transcutaneously from the tibiae of mice from 4 to 23 weeks old and subsequently on the exposed bones. Partial least squares regression was applied to generate predictions of the areal bone mineral density (aBMD), volumetric bone mineralization density (vBMD), and maximum torque (MT) of each tibia as quantified by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, microCT imaging, and biomechanical tests, respectively. Significant correlations were observed between Raman spectral predictions and the reference values in all three categories. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of Raman spectroscopy predicting a biomechanical bone parameter (MT) in vivo with an uncertainty much smaller than the spread in the reference values.
Highlights
Osteoporosis is a serious disease which affects more than 2 million people in the US [1]
By using Spatially offset Raman spectroscopy (SORS) to measure subcortical bone tissue from a mouse model of genetic osteogenesis imperfecta, we found that SORS was more sensitive to these specific disease-related biochemical changes than conventional Raman spectroscopy [20]
Most of the subsequent analysis was performed using the spectra from ring 3, a comparison with ring 1 results will be discussed
Summary
Osteoporosis is a serious disease which affects more than 2 million people in the US [1]. Without appropriate diagnosis and treatment, it usually leads to bone fragility and fracture and the development of osteoporosis can cause further morbidity and even mortality. Bone density testing by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is the current clinical standard for diagnosis. DXA measures areal bone mineral density (aBMD) and can reveal low bone mass and increased risk of fracture [2]. X-ray computed tomography (CT) has been developed to scan bones and generate high resolution images of volumetric bone mineralization density (vBMD) [4]. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), another non-invasive method commonly used to image the musculoskeletal system, has been demonstrated to measure the density of bones [6]. A minimally invasive diagnostic technique named reference point indentation (RPI) was developed for the assessment of bone mechanical quality in vivo [7]
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