TY - GEN
T1 - Parameter estimation in ultrasonic measurements on trabecular bone
AU - Marutyan, Karen R.
AU - Anderson, Christian C.
AU - Wear, Keith A.
AU - Holland, Mark R.
AU - Miller, James G.
AU - Bretthorst, G. Larry
PY - 2007
Y1 - 2007
N2 - Ultrasonic tissue characterization has shown promise for clinical diagnosis of diseased bone (e.g., osteoporosis) by establishing correlations between bone ultrasonic characteristics and the state of disease. Porous (trabecular) bone supports propagation of two compressional modes, a fast wave and a slow wave, each of which is characterized by an approximately linear-with-frequency attenuation coefficient and monotonically increasing with frequency phase velocity. Only a single wave, however, is generally apparent in the received signals. The ultrasonic parameters that govern propagation of this single wave appear to be causally inconsistent [1]. Specifically, the attenuation coefficient rises approximately linearly with frequency, but the phase velocity exhibits a decrease with frequency. These inconsistent results are obtained when the data are analyzed under the assumption that the received signal is composed of one wave. The inconsistency disappears if the data are analyzed under the assumption that the signal is composed of superposed fast and slow waves. In the current investigation, Bayesian probability theory is applied to estimate the ultrasonic characteristics underlying the propagation of the fast and slow wave from computer simulations. Our motivation is the assumption that identifying the intrinsic material properties of bone will provide more reliable estimates of bone quality and fracture risk than the apparent properties derived by analyzing the data using a one-mode model.
AB - Ultrasonic tissue characterization has shown promise for clinical diagnosis of diseased bone (e.g., osteoporosis) by establishing correlations between bone ultrasonic characteristics and the state of disease. Porous (trabecular) bone supports propagation of two compressional modes, a fast wave and a slow wave, each of which is characterized by an approximately linear-with-frequency attenuation coefficient and monotonically increasing with frequency phase velocity. Only a single wave, however, is generally apparent in the received signals. The ultrasonic parameters that govern propagation of this single wave appear to be causally inconsistent [1]. Specifically, the attenuation coefficient rises approximately linearly with frequency, but the phase velocity exhibits a decrease with frequency. These inconsistent results are obtained when the data are analyzed under the assumption that the received signal is composed of one wave. The inconsistency disappears if the data are analyzed under the assumption that the signal is composed of superposed fast and slow waves. In the current investigation, Bayesian probability theory is applied to estimate the ultrasonic characteristics underlying the propagation of the fast and slow wave from computer simulations. Our motivation is the assumption that identifying the intrinsic material properties of bone will provide more reliable estimates of bone quality and fracture risk than the apparent properties derived by analyzing the data using a one-mode model.
KW - Bayesian probability theory
KW - Bone
KW - Osteoporosis
KW - Tissue characterization
KW - Ultrasound
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=71449122712&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1063/1.2821279
DO - 10.1063/1.2821279
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:71449122712
SN - 9780735404687
T3 - AIP Conference Proceedings
SP - 329
EP - 336
BT - Bayesian Inference and Maximum Entropy Methods in Science and Engineering - 27th International Workshop on Bayesian Inference and Maximum Entropy Methods in Science and Engineering, MaxEnt 2007
T2 - 27th International Workshop on Bayesian Inference and Maximum Entropy Methods in Science and Engineering, MaxEnt 2007
Y2 - 8 July 2007 through 13 July 2007
ER -