Abstract: A method for the in vivo non-invasive characterization of the material and architectural properties of a bone in which an ultrasonic wave is introduced into a bone in such way as to produce one or more guided wave modes within the bone, and the signals emerging from the bone are stored and analyzed to determine the propagation characteristics of the guided wave/s. These measured guided wave propagation characteristics are then processed to obtain estimates of desired bone properties such as cortical thickness, bone density and bone elastic constants. The invention also includes an unltrasound arrangement with movable transducers.

Abstract: A method for the in vivo non-invasive characterization of the material and architectural properties of a bone in which an ultrasonic wave is introduced into a bone in such way as to produce one or more guided wave modes within the bone, and the signals emerging from the bone are stored and analyzed to determine the propagation characteristics of the guided wave/s. These measured guided wave propagation characteristics are then processed to obtain estimates of desired bone properties such as cortical thickness, bone density and bone elastic constants. The invention also includes an unltrasound arrangement with movable transducers.

Abstract: A method for diagnosing and monitoring osteoporosis includes the steps of:stimulating the tibia of a patient, to create a pulse that progresses in the bone, which can be registered as a function of time;measuring accelerations of the pulse at at least two spaced locations, at an interval from the point of stimulation and at an interval from one another, as a temporal function, both measurement points being at a distance of at least 1/6 of the length of the tibia from its nearest end;measuring the diameter of the bone to provide a quantity depicting the geometry of the bone, at a predetermined point on the tibia and estimating the density of the bone tissue at the same point,measuring the velocity V of a pulse in the bone to provide a quantity depicting the condition of the bone, over at least one measurement interval;calculating at least one of the following factors over at least one measurement interval:a coefficient R, dependent on the variation of the bone tissue,a coefficient K, dependent on changes in th

Abstract: A method for diagnosing and monitoring osteoporosis includes the steps of obtaining volumetric bone mineral density and cross-sectional area information of a bone of a patient utilizing computerized tomography, displaying the information in matrix image form wherein each pixel indicates the density of the bone tissue in the image area at that point, distinguishing pixels depicting bone tissue from the rest of the image utilizing a lower-limit criteria, calculating the mass distribution of bone tissue meeting and exceeding the criteria, and quantifying the condition of the patient's bone tissue as a function of the calculated mass distribution of bone tissue.