Multi-channel pulse-echo ultrasound using linear arrays and single-channel data acquisition systems opens new perspectives for the evaluation of cortical bone. In combination with spectral backscatter analysis, it can provide quantitative information about cortical microstructural properties. We present a numerical study, based on the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method, to estimate the backscatter cross-section of randomly distributed circular pores in a bone matrix. A model that predicts the backscatter coefficient using arbitrary pore diameter distributions was derived. In an ex-vivo study on 19 human tibia bones (6 males, 13 females, 83.7 ± 8.4 years), multidirectional ultrasound backscatter measurements were performed using an ultrasound scanner equipped with a 6-MHz 128-element linear array with sweep motor control. A normalized depth-dependent spectral analysis was performed to derive backscatter and attenuation coefficients. Site-matched reference values of tissue acoustic impedance Z, cortical thickness Ct.Th, pore density Ct.Po.Dn, porosity Ct.Po and characteristic parameters of the pore diameter (Ct.Po.Dm) distribution were obtained from 100-MHz scanning-acoustic microscopy images. Proximal femur areal bone mineral density (aBMD), stiffness S and ultimate force Fu from the same donors were available from a previous study. All pore structure and material properties could be predicted using linear combinations of backscatter parameters with median to high accuracy (0.28  adjusted R²  0.59). The combination of cortical thickness and backscatter parameter provided similar or better prediction accuracies than aBMD. For the first time, a method for the non-invasive assessment of the pore diameter distribution in cortical bone by ultrasound is proposed. The combined assessment of cortical thickness, sound velocity, and pore size distribution in a mobile, non-ionizing measurement system could have a major impact to prevent osteoporotic fractures.

No abstract