Non-destructive detection and characterization of bone microdamage using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Materials Science
• Orthopedics

Background:

• Bone microdamage from activities like sports and military training accumulates, increasing fracture risk.
• Conventional diagnostics often fail to detect early-stage bone microdamage.
• Non-destructive testing methods are needed for early diagnosis and prevention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the bone fatigue fracture process using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS).
• To evaluate the impact of varying damage levels on spectral coefficients.
• To assess THz-TDS as a tool for early bone microdamage detection.

Main Methods:

• Utilized terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) to analyze bone samples.
• Induced varying levels of bone microdamage through controlled fatigue testing (cycles and stress).
• Measured changes in spectral coefficients, including refractive index and absorption coefficient.

Main Results:

• THz-TDS effectively evaluated the complete bone fatigue fracture process.
• Spectral coefficients (refractive index and absorption coefficient) were highly sensitive to bone damage levels.
• The refractive index trend correlated with the Young's modulus as a function of loading cycles.

Conclusions:

• THz-TDS is a promising non-destructive technique for assessing bone microdamage.
• This method offers potential for early clinical detection of bone damage.
• THz-TDS could aid in preventing fractures caused by accumulated microdamage.