A METHOD AND DEVICE FOR THE NON-INVASIVE ASSESSMENT OF BONES

摘要

A method for the in vivo non-invasive characterization of the material and architectural properties of a bone in which an ultrasonic wave is introduced into a bone in such way as to produce one or more guided wave modes within the bone, and the signals emerging from the bone are stored and analysed to determine the propagation characteristics of the guided wave/s. These measured guided wave propagation characteristics are then processed to obtain estimates of desired bone properties such as cortical thickness, bone density and bone elastic constants. The invention also comprises an ultrasound arrangement with movable transducers.