Ultrasonic characterization of human cancellous bone using transmission and backscatter measurements: relationships to density and microstructure

International audienceThe present study was designed to evaluate the relationships between ultrasonic backscatter, density, and microarchitecture of cancellous bone. The slopes of the frequency-dependent attenuation coefficient (nBUA), ultrasound bone velocity (UBV), the frequency-averaged backscatter coefficient (BUB) were measured in 25 cylindrical cancellous bone cores. Bone mineral density (BMD) was determined using X-ray quantitative computed tomography. Microarchitecture was investigated with synchrotron radiation microtomography with an isotropic spatial resolution of 10 μm. Several microstructural parameters reflecting morphology, connectivity, and anisotropy of the specimens were derived from the reconstructed three-dimensional (3D) microarchitecture. The association of the ultrasonic variables with density and microarchitecture was assessed using simple and multivariate linear regression techniques. For all ultrasonic variables, a strong association was found with density (r = 0.84–0.90). We also found that, with the exception of connectivity, all microstructural parameters correlated significantly with density, with r values of 0.54–0.92. For most microstructural parameters there was a highly significant correlation with ultrasonic parameters (r = 0.33–0.91). However, the additional variance explained by microstructural parameters compared with the variance explained by BMD alone was small (Δr2 = 6% at best). In particular, no significant independent association was found between microstructure and backscatter coefficient (a microstructure-related ultrasonic parameter) after adjustment for density. The source for the unaccounted variance of quantitative ultrasound (QUS) parameters remains unknown