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Nonlinear resonant ultrasound spectroscopy can assess bone microdamage in vitro
DOI:10.1038/bonekey.2014.52
This proof-of-concept study tested nonlinear resonant ultrasound spectroscopy (NRUS) as a tool for detecting the degree of accumulated microdamage in a bone under the stress of four-point bending fatigue.
Measurements using NRUS were taken to allow the evolution of nonlinear hysteretic elastic behavior to be monitored during the process of inducing damage by fatigue. Synchrotron radiation micro-CT was used to assess the density, number and length of microcracks that had appeared in samples extracted after each fatigue step.
Overall, a greater number of short microcracks were detected in damaged regions of bone compared to bone not subjected to stress. No difference was detected in the overall length of microcracks detected in the damaged regions of bone. The stepwise nature of the study allowed the researchers to observe the significant impact of accumulated fatigue on the nonlinear hysteretic elastic properties of the bone.
Editor’s comment: This study confirms that NRUS is capable of detecting the presence of short microcracks produced by cyclic bending of human cortical bone in vitro. The next challenge will be to adapt this ability obtained in a well-designed experiment in the laboratory towards a measurement in vivo.
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