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Updated: May 8, 2026

Cortical Bone Assessment Using Ultrasonic Guided Waves: A Reproducibility Study in a Healthy Population
Published on: January 31, 2025
Radial anatomic variation of ultrasonic velocity in human cortical bone
Vincent Mathieu1, Christine Chappard, Romain Vayron
1CNRS, Laboratoire Modélisation et Simulation Multi-Échelle, UMR CNRS 8208, Créteil, France.
Abstract:
Quantitative ultrasound techniques can be used to retrieve cortical bone quality. The aim of this study was to investigate the anatomic variations in speed of sound (SOS) in the radial direction of cortical bone tissue. SOS measurements were realized in 17 human cortical bone samples with a 3.5-MHz transverse transmission device. The radial dependence of SOS was investigated in a direction perpendicular to the periosteum. For each sample, bone porosity was measured using an X-ray micro-computed tomography device. The mean SOS was 3586 ± 255 m/s. For 16 of 17 specimens, similar radial variations in SOS were observed. In the periosteal region, SOS first decreased in the direction of the endosteum and reached a minimum value approximately in the middle of the cortical bone. SOS then increased, moving to the endosteal region. A significant negative correlation was obtained between SOS and porosity (R = -0.54, p = 0.02).
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