An Amplitude Modulation Ultrasonic Backscatter Method for Estimation Characterization of Cancellous Bones

Most ultrasonic backscatter method excites a short single-pulse and then analyses the bone's response for diagnosing osteoporosis. However, the bone responses to the ultrasound excitation have not been fully understood, such as the response to amplitude modulation (AM) excitation, which may contain more information about bone characteristics for diagnosing. The objectives of this study were to observe the response that the cancellous bones to the AM excitation, and then to investigate extracting AM backscatter parameter for estimating bone mineral density (BMD) and structure. An innovative instrument was developed and realized both AM excitation and real-time calculation parameter AIB
AM
. The results showed that AIB
AM
has strong and stable correlations with BMD and structure model index (SMI) (
$\vert \mathrm{R}\vert =0.82-0.91, \mathrm{p} < 0.05$
). These results indicate that AM ultrasonic backscatter method combined with the portable device might have the potential for screening and diagnosing osteoporosis.