Modal damping as bone quality index: Experimentation on women's femora

A non invasive method to assess bone structural integrity (osteoporosis) on female femora is applied. The method is based on in-vitro measurement of the dynamic characteristics of the bone (modal damping factor-MDF) by applying vibration excitation in the range of acoustic frequencies, in the form of an acoustic sweep signal. The method has been already successfully applied on metallic structures and composites, including bones, and is supported by analytical and arithmetic tool based on model's theory. Experimental MDF results are compared to results acquired with conventional method (DEXA) and show a very satisfying correlation between change in damping factor and bone density. This research, in addition to previous works of the authors strengthens the potential of the proposed method to consist a valuable assessment tool for monitoring bone integrity, metabolic bone diseases, especially osteoporosis.