| 摘要 |
First and second electrodes are placed in electrical contact with the bone tissue, preferably in vivo, such that it forms part of an electrical circuit between the electrodes. Alternating electrical signals, preferably at different frequencies, are applied to the circuit and the circuit's electrical response is monitored and processed to generate output data representative of the bone tissue structure. The apparatus comprises two electrodes 25, 26, a signal generator 15 to supply the alternating current, a device 16 to monitor the circuit's electrical response and a computer 3 which generates the output data. The two electrodes may be used both to apply the current and to monitor the response. Preferably, a structural or compositional characteristic of the bone tissue, such as its density, is derived from a predetermined relationship with one or more electrical characteristics of the monitored response, e.g. current response, voltage response or phase shift. |
