Dependences of the Backscatter Coefficient on the Frequency, the Bone Volume Fraction, and the Trabecular Thickness in Bovine Femoral Trabecular Bone In V itro

摘要

The present study aims to provide insight into the dependences of the backscatter coefficient on the frequency, the bone volume fraction (BV/TV), and the trabecular thickness (Tb.Th) in bovine femoral trabecular bone in vitro. The frequency-dependent backscatter coefficient was measured in 20 bovine femoral trabecular bone samples over a frequency range from 0.2 to 0.7 MHz. The backscatter coefficient measured at 0.5 MHz exhibited significant positive correlations with the BV/TV (r = 0.76) and the Tb.Th (r = 0.77). The power-law fits to the measurements showed that the backscatter coefficient was empirically proportional to the frequency, the BV/TV, and the Tb.Th with exponents of n = 2.9, 1.3, and 1.8, respectively. The present study also used a scattering model, in which the scattering coefficient was proportional to the product of the mean velocity fluctuation and the correlation function integrated over the volume, to predict the measurements. The measurements were found to largely fall within the range of the predictions obtained from the scattering model.