Photoacoustic Microscopic Evaluation of Sub-surface Trabeculae in Cancellous Bone

Osteoporosis is a bone disease with large impact on quality of life that requires early diagnosis for best clinical outcome. Photoacoustics (PA) is an emerging modality that overcomes issues in existing methods. Photoacoustic microscopy (PAM), specifically OR-PAM, is investigated here for its diagnostic potential for the first time. In PAM images of ex vivo cancellous bone samples, their distinctive trabecular structure is accurately represented. 3D in addition to 2D imaging is also performed, revealing the 3D structure of the trabecular network. To quantitatively assess bone density, a parameter - trabecular area ratio - is proposed, which correlates with reference measurements. Results demonstrate the potential of PAM in localized analysis of bone biochemical properties.