Correlations Among Speed of Sound, Broadband Ultrasonic Attenuation, Broadband Ultrasonic Reflection, and Bone Density in Bovine Cancellous Bone

Abstract

Correlations between acoustic properties and bone density have been investigated in bovine cancellous bone. Speed of sound (SOS), broadband ultrasonic attenuation (BUA), and broadband ultrasonic reflection (BUR) were measured in 10 defatted bovine cancellous bone specimens in vitro. SOS showed a significant correlation with the apparent density of the bone. A comparable correlation was observed between BUA and the apparent density. BUR was rather highly correlated with the apparent density. It was shown that BUR had a weak correlation with BUA and a significant correlation with SOS. This indicates that the parameter BUR can provide important information that may not be contained in BUA and SOS and, therefore, can be useful as an alternative diagnostic parameter of osteoporosis. As expected, a linear combination of all three ultrasonic parameters in a multiple regression model resulted in a significant improvement in predicting the apparent bone density.