Trabecular bone attenuation and velocity assess by ultrasound pulse-echoes

Abstract

Attenuation and velocity (Speed-of-Sound) in a trabecular bone were calculated and evaluated from ultrasound pulse-echoes detection and their processing, applying a single US transducer that operates in transmit/receive mode. The processing of US pulse-echoes utilized development of algorithms for the attenuation and the Speed-of-Sound in trabecular bone. These ultra-sound pulse-echoes were obtained from the front and rear surfaces of a trabecular bone sample. The motivation for this work was to develop an efficient intraosseous monitoring device that provides the Speed-of-Sound and attenuation intraoperatively and in real-time and therefore can be implemented during a surgery.Ultrasonic measurements were performed in the frequency range of 3.5–6.5 [MHz]. In these experiments, the fresh trabecular bone samples were from sheep femora and humerus. The measuring results were correlated (R2 ≥ 0.95) with those obtained previously, mainly during transmission mode studies.According to the obtained results, the presented method presumably will be utilized as a clinical tool in bone surgical procedures and therefore will be able to provide better outcomes, while monitoring intraoperatively and in real-rime intraosseous trabecular bone attenuation and its velocity: In the next stage of this study, the method will be carried out on human tissues and also intraoperatively, during human clinical trials. It is planned to perform it on long bones/tibia, vertebra, in neurosurgery – for drilling the skull and also in dental implantation surgery.