The Characteristics of Ultrasound Speed and Attenuation in Progressive Trypsin Digested Articular Cartilage

Articular cartilage is a biological weight-bearing tissue covering the bony ends of articulating joints. Subtle changes in tissue composition can lead to degeneration of articular cartilage. Some studies indicated that ultrasound acoustic parameters are related with the degeneration of articular cartilage. The aim of this study is to investigate the changes of ultrasound speed and attenuation in progressive trypsin digested articular cartilage using high frequency ultrasound. Fresh intact cartilage specimens were monitored with a 25 MHz ultrasound transducer during progressive trypsin digestion for 1 hour. The result showed that ultrasound speed increased and ultrasound amplitude attenuation decreased in articular cartilage with PG digestion. However, broadband ultrasound attenuation was non-sensitive to PG degeneration. The results maybe provide some information for diagnosing of early AC diseases.