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Femoral Skeletal Growth in Early Infancy Assessed by Radiofrequency Echographic Multi-Spectrometry
Serafina Perrone1, Virginia Beretta1, Laura Cannavò2
1Department of Medicine and Surgery, Neonatology Unit, Pietro Barilla Children's Hospital, University of Parma, Parma, Italy.
Insights
Radiofrequency echographic multi-spectrometry (REMS) shows potential for assessing infant bone growth. This non-invasive ultrasound method detects changes in spectral patterns related to skeletal development in early life.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Bone Health
- Ultrasound Technology
- Skeletal Development
Background:
- Early skeletal growth is crucial for lifelong bone health but difficult to assess in infants.
- Existing densitometric techniques have limited feasibility for longitudinal infant studies.
- Radiofrequency echographic multi-spectrometry (REMS) is validated for adult bone mineral density (BMD) but not yet for infants.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore a REMS-based approach for assessing femoral skeletal growth in early infancy.
- To determine if REMS spectral analysis can detect growth-related changes in infant bone.
Main Methods:
- Eighty-two healthy term infants underwent femoral REMS at 3 and 6 months.
- Unfiltered radiofrequency ultrasound signals were analyzed using fast Fourier transform (FFT) and partial least squares (PLS) regression.
- Body weight served as a surrogate marker for skeletal growth, with spectral features as predictors.
Main Results:
- Distinct spectral patterns were observed between lower- and higher-weight infants.
- The PLS-based spectral model demonstrated longitudinal consistency in tracking skeletal status.
- REMS-derived spectral features systematically varied with physiological changes related to infant growth.
Conclusions:
- REMS spectral characteristics are sensitive to early skeletal growth processes in infants.
- This study provides foundational evidence for extending REMS to pediatric populations.
- REMS offers a promising non-invasive, radiation-free method for longitudinal skeletal development assessment.
Background:
Early skeletal growth represents a critical window for lifelong bone health and is influenced by genetic, nutritional, and environmental factors. However, the assessment of bone status during infancy remains challenging due to the limited feasibility of reference densitometric techniques for longitudinal use. Radiofrequency echographic multi-spectrometry (REMS) is an ultrasound-based technology validated for bone mineral density (BMD) assessment in adults, but its applicability to early infancy has not yet been established. This study aimed to explore a REMS-based approach for investigating femoral skeletal growth during early life.
Methods:
Eighty-two healthy term infants underwent femoral REMS examinations at 3 and 6 months of age. Unfiltered radiofrequency ultrasound signals were analyzed using a multivariate framework combining fast Fourier transform (FFT) spectral analysis with partial least squares (PLS) regression. Body weight was used as an indirect surrogate marker of skeletal growth, with spectral features serving as predictors.
Results:
Average power spectra stratified according to PLS-inferred body weight demonstrated distinct spectral patterns between lower- and higher-weight infants. The PLS-based spectral model showed longitudinal consistency, preserving relative skeletal status across time points. These findings indicate that REMS-derived spectral features vary systematically with growth-related physiological changes during infancy.
Conclusions:
REMS-derived spectral characteristics appear to be sensitive to early skeletal growth processes in infancy. Although further studies incorporating direct bone outcomes are required to disentangle the relative contributions of body size and mineralization, this work provides foundational evidence supporting the feasibility of extending REMS technology to early life. REMS may represent a promising non-invasive and radiation-free approach for longitudinal investigation of skeletal development in pediatric populations.
