Predict Ultrasonic Backscatter Coefficient in Cancellous Bone by Theory and Experiment

The scattering mechanism of ultrasound in cancellous bone is investigated theoretically. The relationship of backscatter coefficient (BSC) in cancellous bone with frequency is analyzed in theoretical and experimental. The results of theory and experiment for cancellous bone of bovine tibiae, human calcaneus in vitro and in vivo showed that BSC is a non-linear function of frequency, increasing with frequency. In general, all curve of BSC can be divided into three sections with different slope. The slopes of the first and third section have a large value, and the slope of second section is flat. A good agreement was obtained in the averaged BSC of experiment and cellular model. Those results suggest that the backscatter signal and BSC have a particularly important action in assessment of cancellous bone status and diagnosis of osteoporosis